Where Did That Black Hole Come From?
Medium-size black holes actually do exist, according to the latest findings from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, but scientists had to look in some unexpected places to find them. The previously undiscovered black holes provide an important link that sheds light on the way in which black holes grow. Even more odd, these new black holes were found in the cores of glittering, 'beehive' swarms of stars called globular star clusters, which orbit our Milky Way and other galaxies.
The black hole in globular cluster M15 is 4, 000 times more massive than our Sun.
Credit:About the Image
About the Object
Name: | Messier 15, NGC 7078 |
Type: | Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Black Hole Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Globular |
Distance: | 35000 light years |
Constellation: | Pegasus |
Category: | Quasars and Black Holes |
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 21 29 58.19 |
Position (Dec): | 12° 9' 52.34" |
Field of view: | 0.97 x 1.43 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 10.4° right of vertical |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Optical B | 439 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
Optical V | 547 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
Optical OIII | 502 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
Optical H-alpha | 656 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
Infrared I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |