In October 2007, the two largest stellar mass black holes were discovered. Stellar mass black holes are black holes that are created from the remnants of stars. Scientists originally believed that stellar mass black holes could not be much larger than 15 times the mass of the sun. These discoveries have called into question certain astronomical theories concerning the supernova process of dying stars.SPACE.com: Monster Black Hole Busts Theory (October 17, 2007)Science Daily: Massive Black Hole Smashes Record (October 31, 2007)
Black Hole M33 X-7
- About 16 times the mass of the sunChandra Press Room: Heaviest Stellar Black Hole Discovered in Nearby Galaxy (October 17, 2007)
- 3 million light years awayChandra Press Room: Heaviest Stellar Black Hole Discovered in Nearby Galaxy (October 17, 2007)
- In M33 binary systemChandra Press Room: Heaviest Stellar Black Hole Discovered in Nearby Galaxy (October 17, 2007)
Black Hole IC 10 X-1
What is a worm hole? Are all worm holes black holes?(1 Answer)
A:
Two black holes, connected...would just form a very large black hole. And by definition, a black hole has a center of extremely high mass, and thus a ...
What is the biggest black hole observed?(2 Answers)
A:
It's actually part of a binary system...the larger event weighs in at about the equivalent of 18 billion suns...that's 3.580056 × 10^40 kilograms ...
How many massive black holes have been observed in the Universe?(1 Answer)
A:
Massive black holes are thought to exist at the center of many/most/all galaxies. Let's define "massive" as >100,000 solar masses. Sagittarius A at the ...
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Fast Facts
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Discovered within two weeks of each other
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No mechanism currently known for formation
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Smaller than supermassive black holes found at the center of most galaxies
