At 6.6 Billion Suns, The Largest Black Hole Ever Measured Could Swallow Our Solar System
A universal heavyweight champion was crowned this morning at the 217th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle: A giant black hole weighing a staggering 6.6 billion suns accepted the title of the most massive black hole for which a precise mass has been determined. That's not to say it's necessarily the largest black hole in the universe by any means, but in this neck of the cosmic woods we haven't measured a bigger one. Located at the heart of the galaxy M87 some 50 million light years away in the direction of Virgo, the black hole is so big it could swallow our solar system hole easily. Its event horizon--the boundary at which nothing, not even light, can escape the monster's gravitational pull--is four times as large as the orbit of Neptune, our sun's outermost planetary satellite. Related Articles Black Hole Fight!NASA Catches Two Black Holes Sucking FaceSupermassive Black Hole...