The Guardian - December 5, 2011
Astronomers have located the two biggest black holes ever found, each one billions of times more massive than our sun. Observations of these supermassive cosmic objects will give scientists clues on how black holes and galaxies formed and evolved, especially in the earliest stages of the universe's existence.
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These two newly discovered supermassive black holes were found by analysing data from the Hubble Space Telescope and two of the biggest ground-based telescopes in the world, the Gemini North and Keck 2 facilities in Hawaii. The work, led by Douglas O Richstone of the department of astronomy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, is published this week in Nature.
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Two Record-Breaking Black Hole Behemoths Spotted
Discovery News - December 6, 2011
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A team of astronomers, headed by Nicholas McConnell of the University of California, Berkeley, used data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope, the Keck and Gemini observatories in Hawaii, and the McDonald Observatory in Texas to observe the stars orbiting around the central nuclei of both galaxies and calculated the mass of the black holes hidden in their cores.
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A team of astronomers, headed by Nicholas McConnell of the University of California, Berkeley, used data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope, the Keck and Gemini observatories in Hawaii, and the McDonald Observatory in Texas to observe the stars orbiting around the central nuclei of both galaxies and calculated the mass of the black holes hidden in their cores.
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Two Behemoth Black Holes, the Largest Ever Discovered, Could Swallow Billions of Suns
Popular Science - December 5, 2011
Astronomers have measured the two most enormous supermassive black holes found so far, vast realms of titanic gravity large enough to swallow 10 of our solar systems. The black holes are much bigger than predicted, suggesting extra-large galaxies and their black holes grow and evolve differently than smaller ones.
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To weigh the black holes, Nicholas McConnell and Chung-Pei Ma at the University of California-Berkeley used the Keck and Gemini observatories to measure the speed of stars moving around the black holes. The faster the stars were moving, the more gravity was needed to keep them in check, so the researchers used these velocities to calculate the black holes’ masses.
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Astronomers have measured the two most enormous supermassive black holes found so far, vast realms of titanic gravity large enough to swallow 10 of our solar systems. The black holes are much bigger than predicted, suggesting extra-large galaxies and their black holes grow and evolve differently than smaller ones.
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To weigh the black holes, Nicholas McConnell and Chung-Pei Ma at the University of California-Berkeley used the Keck and Gemini observatories to measure the speed of stars moving around the black holes. The faster the stars were moving, the more gravity was needed to keep them in check, so the researchers used these velocities to calculate the black holes’ masses.
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Monster black holes are most massive ever discovered
MSNBC - December 5, 2011
Scientists have discovered the largest black holes yet, and they're far bigger than researchers expected based on the galaxies in which they were found.
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The scientists used the Gemini and Keck observatories in Hawaii and the McDonald Observatory in Texas to monitor the velocities of stars orbiting around the centers of a pair of galaxies. These velocities reveal the strength of the gravitational pull on those stars, which in turn is linked with the masses of the black holes lurking there.
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Scientists have discovered the largest black holes yet, and they're far bigger than researchers expected based on the galaxies in which they were found.
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The scientists used the Gemini and Keck observatories in Hawaii and the McDonald Observatory in Texas to monitor the velocities of stars orbiting around the centers of a pair of galaxies. These velocities reveal the strength of the gravitational pull on those stars, which in turn is linked with the masses of the black holes lurking there.
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Researchers Discover Monstrous Supermassive Black Holes
PBS Newshour - December 5, 2011
Researchers have discovered a monster black hole that appears to be the most massive found to date, as massive as 21 billion suns. This is one of two black holes found in elliptical galaxies some 300 million light years away -- both believed to be the biggest yet.
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Scientists calculate the mass of black holes by studying the matter swirling around them. In this case, researchers used state-of-the-art spectrographs on Hawaii's Gemini North and Keck 2 telescopes to determine the speed and motion of stars orbiting around the black holes. The more massive the black hole, the faster objects will orbit around it.
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Researchers have discovered a monster black hole that appears to be the most massive found to date, as massive as 21 billion suns. This is one of two black holes found in elliptical galaxies some 300 million light years away -- both believed to be the biggest yet.
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Scientists calculate the mass of black holes by studying the matter swirling around them. In this case, researchers used state-of-the-art spectrographs on Hawaii's Gemini North and Keck 2 telescopes to determine the speed and motion of stars orbiting around the black holes. The more massive the black hole, the faster objects will orbit around it.
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Most massive black holes ever discovered
CBS News - December 5, 2011
Scientists have discovered the largest black holes yet, and they're far bigger than researchers expected based on the galaxies in which they were found. The discovery suggests we have much to learn about how monster black holes grow, scientists said.
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The scientists used the Gemini and Keck observatories in Hawaii and the McDonald Observatory in Texas to monitor the velocities of stars orbiting around the centers of a pair of galaxies. These velocities reveal the strength of the gravitational pull on those stars, which in turn is linked with the masses of the black holes lurking there.
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Scientists have discovered the largest black holes yet, and they're far bigger than researchers expected based on the galaxies in which they were found. The discovery suggests we have much to learn about how monster black holes grow, scientists said.
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The scientists used the Gemini and Keck observatories in Hawaii and the McDonald Observatory in Texas to monitor the velocities of stars orbiting around the centers of a pair of galaxies. These velocities reveal the strength of the gravitational pull on those stars, which in turn is linked with the masses of the black holes lurking there.
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Astrophysicists find biggest black holes yet
Los Angeles Times - December 6, 2011
Astrophysicists scanning the heavens have clocked a new cosmological record: the two biggest black holes ever detected — one about 10 billion times the mass of our sun and the second as much as twice the size of the first.
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Using the Gemini North and Keck II telescopes in Hawaii, the McDonald Observatory in Texas and the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, the scientists did more than luck out — they found that the stars and gas near the centers of the two far-off galaxies were moving much faster than they had anticipated.
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Astrophysicists scanning the heavens have clocked a new cosmological record: the two biggest black holes ever detected — one about 10 billion times the mass of our sun and the second as much as twice the size of the first.
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Using the Gemini North and Keck II telescopes in Hawaii, the McDonald Observatory in Texas and the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, the scientists did more than luck out — they found that the stars and gas near the centers of the two far-off galaxies were moving much faster than they had anticipated.
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Scientists find giant black holes
Sydney Morning Herald - December 7, 2011
Astrophysicists scanning the heavens have clocked a new cosmological record: the two biggest black holes ever detected — one about 10 billion times the mass of our sun and the second as much as twice that mass.
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Astrophysicists scanning the heavens have clocked a new cosmological record: the two biggest black holes ever detected — one about 10 billion times the mass of our sun and the second as much as twice that mass.
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Using the Gemini North and Keck 2 telescopes in Hawaii, the McDonald Observatory in Texas and the Earth-orbiting Hubble space telescope, the scientists did more than luck out — they found the stars and gas near the centres of the two far-off galaxies were moving much faster than they had anticipated.
That meant the black holes were larger than they should be, even taking into account the large size of the galaxies they sat within.
Record-breaking black holes fill a cosmic gap
Nature.com - December 5, 2011
Astronomers have discovered the two most massive black holes known in the Universe. Tipping the scale with masses on the order of 10 billion times that of the Sun, these gravitational monsters could represent a missing link: the first known remnants of the brightest quasars that lit the cosmos only a billion or so years after the Big Bang.
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Using instruments on the Keck II and Gemini North telescopes atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, the astronomers found that a cluster galaxy called NGC 3842 houses a black hole with a mass equivalent to 9.7 billion Suns. Another galaxy, NGC 4889, which lies at the centre of another cluster, has a black hole with an estimated mass of about 20 billion Suns, although it could be as large as 37 billion. (The previous record holder, a black hole at the centre of the nearby galaxy M87, has a mass of 6.7 billion Suns, some members of Ma’s team reported at arXiv.org on 11 January and in the Astrophysical Journal on 10 March.
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Astronomers have discovered the two most massive black holes known in the Universe. Tipping the scale with masses on the order of 10 billion times that of the Sun, these gravitational monsters could represent a missing link: the first known remnants of the brightest quasars that lit the cosmos only a billion or so years after the Big Bang.
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Using instruments on the Keck II and Gemini North telescopes atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, the astronomers found that a cluster galaxy called NGC 3842 houses a black hole with a mass equivalent to 9.7 billion Suns. Another galaxy, NGC 4889, which lies at the centre of another cluster, has a black hole with an estimated mass of about 20 billion Suns, although it could be as large as 37 billion. (The previous record holder, a black hole at the centre of the nearby galaxy M87, has a mass of 6.7 billion Suns, some members of Ma’s team reported at arXiv.org on 11 January and in the Astrophysical Journal on 10 March.
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Scientists find monster black holes, biggest yet
The Associated Press - December 5, 2011
A team led by astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, discovered the two gigantic black holes in clusters of elliptical galaxies more than 300 million light years away. That's relatively close on the galactic scale.
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Two record-breaking black holes found nearby
Astronomy.com - December 6, 2011
Observations with the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii reveal evidence for what astronomers are calling the largest black holes ever measured in our nearby cosmological neighborhood. This result is crucial in explaining the long-standing mystery of where the largest black holes are hiding in our present-day universe.
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Observations with the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii reveal evidence for what astronomers are calling the largest black holes ever measured in our nearby cosmological neighborhood. This result is crucial in explaining the long-standing mystery of where the largest black holes are hiding in our present-day universe.
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