Read, Watch or Listen

Astronomers have discovered a potentially record-breaking ultramassive black hole, approximately 36.3 billion times the mass of our Sun, residing in the galaxy SDSS J1148+1930, 5 billion light-years away. This 'dormant' black hole, located within a gravitationally lensed system known as the Cosmic Horseshoe, was detected due to its immense gravitational pull. Its mass is near the theoretical upper limit for black holes, exceeding previous measurements with higher certainty. The discovery, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, offers valuable insights into the formation of supermassive black holes and the evolution of galaxy clusters.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.