Biggest Black Hole Ever

This post is for all my stargazers and home astronomers. The biggest black hole ever was discovered by a group of scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.

Black holes are intergalactic omnivores. They consume light, stars, planets, asteroids and even other black holes. A normal black hole like the one in the center of our MilkyWay galaxy only occupies 0.1 percent of the host galaxy's total mass. The black hole in galaxy NGC 1277 consumes 14 percent of the host galaxy's mass. 

To put it in numbers you can understand. The NGC 1277 black hole, has a estimated mass of 17 billion suns. (that's billion with a B) "The gigantic black hole is around 11 times as wide as the orbit of Neptune around our sun," researchers said. It's so massive they have to develop a new classification for "galaxy sized black hole systems."

As of right now astrophysics doesn't know what happens to matter after it passed through a black hole. Once something is trapped in a black holes gravitational pull there's no escape. The object begins to spin faster and faster until it disappears. The point when matter disappears in the black hole is called the "Event Horizon." At this point matter gives off swirling waves of X-rays as it disappears forever.

Black holes are difficult to study directly since they consume everything. So scientists have developed a system to measure them, by calculating the gravitational pull on their surroundings. By watching the X-rays emitted by dying matter (imagine watching something really shiny getting ground up in a blender.) scientist can estimate the size, mass and numerous other details about a black hole.

What scientists have discovered is that the inside of a black hole spins at nearly the speed of light. This is a monumental discovery which confirms Einstein’s "theory of  relativity," which theorized that black holes could spin at almost the speed of light. For more information about black holes and new developments based on these discoveries check out the video and reference articles below. 

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-02/new-telescope-discovery-distant-gargantuan-black-hole-spins-near-light-speed 

http://www.space.com/18668-biggest-black-hole-discovery.html

Super Earth Found

A planet with Earth like conditions has been discovered. The Planet was discovered by HARPS (High Accuracy Radial Planet Searcher) and has four times the mass of Earth. It's also close enough to its yellow sun to support life and since its close to its yellow sun the planet named HD 85512 B has a consistent temperature of seventy-seven degrees. It is a world almost four times the size of Earth and is located 36 light-years away in the constellation Vela.

The planet exists in what scientists term the habitable zone. This means its in the area around a star where water could exist in liquid form, which would make a potential planet livable. To date scientists have found more than 50 new planets and 16 potentially habitable ones. I posted clips from the news interview from CNN and other media outlets on this planet and other Astronomical discoveries.