July 1, 2009 -- Astronomers on Wednesday said they had identified an intermediate class of black hole that could explain how supermassive, light-sucking monsters develop in the heart of galaxies.
Their find -- a black hole more than 500 times the mass of the sun, on the fringe of galaxy ESO 243-249 -- is reported in the latest issue of Nature, the British-based science journal.
In terms of size, it lies between supermassive black holes, which can be billions of times the mass of the sun, and relative toddlers, which are between three and 20 solar masses.
Black holes are among the most powerful forces in the universe. They are concentrated fields of gravity which are so powerful that nothing, not even light, can escape them.
Stellar-mass black holes are believed to have been created from the death throes of massive stars.
Their find -- a black hole more than 500 times the mass of the sun, on the fringe of galaxy ESO 243-249 -- is reported in the latest issue of Nature, the British-based science journal.
In terms of size, it lies between supermassive black holes, which can be billions of times the mass of the sun, and relative toddlers, which are between three and 20 solar masses.
Black holes are among the most powerful forces in the universe. They are concentrated fields of gravity which are so powerful that nothing, not even light, can escape them.
Stellar-mass black holes are believed to have been created from the death throes of massive stars.
