Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

autotldr t1_je4a7hs wrote

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 75%. (I'm a bot)

> Scientists at Durham University discovered the "Ultramassive" black hole by observing its pull on passing light, called gravitational lensing.

> The academics said the black hole was 30 billion times the size of our Sun and was the first to be measured using gravitational lensing.

> Dr Nightingale told BBC Radio Newcastle: "Even as an astronomer, I find it hard to comprehend how big this thing is."If you look at the night sky and count up all the stars and planets you can see and put them in a single point, it would be a fraction of a percent the size of this black hole.

Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: black^#1 hole^#2 universe^#3 how^#4 big^#5

17

Camp_Grenada t1_je4a8lx wrote

"This black hole is bigger than the majority of galaxies in the universe."

Would this mean that this black hole was able to consume the entirety of its host galaxy, plus some more?

Space really is unimaginably huge.

42

OneYearSteakDay t1_je4aozn wrote

"Nobody thought to check between the couch cushions."

Jokes aside, the shit we've learned about our cosmology in just the past [checks notes] I've been told that the comment I was about to right is already out of date - let's just say "the shit we're learning about our cosmology on an ongoing basis" is pretty fucking amazing. Less than a century ago we thought the Milky Way was the whole universe, today we've got galactic super clusters and we're contemplating many worlds theory.

Just in case nobody has told you, there's something you need to know: You're living in the future. Our morals haven't yet caught up to our intellects, but as far as scientific advancements and borderline miraculous technologies are concerned this is an astounding time to be alive.

I can haz more GMOs, lab grown meats, vaccines, and deep space satellites, plz?

(What? I saw a rage comic the other day, it brought back memories.)

15

tao-nui t1_je4bn40 wrote

It seems that it’s not the biggest? What is standing out for this black hole apart from the detection method?

2

Power0_ t1_je4bz2i wrote

Replying to Camp_Grenada (#2,442,388)

It means that the black hole already has that much mass in it. There is no known limit to the mass gain of a black hole. It is unlikely to encounter as much matter to grow say twice again it's size since space is so vast and matter so sparsely distributed over it. But if you introduced the entirety of matter in the universe to a single point and it didn't have velocity away from that point it would all merge under gravity to form the biggest black hole possible. Empty space around it would loose all meaning since there would be nothing in it. Also supermassive black holes host the galaxies around them not the other way around.

6

macross1984 t1_je4c5qq wrote

Wow, the description of this black hole took my breath away; 30 billion times the size of our sun.

If there is one like this there has to be others like this somewhere deep in the universe.

1

carnizzle t1_je4cudq wrote

Replying to Camp_Grenada (#2,442,388)

> Space really is unimaginably huge.

"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."

43

mbelf t1_je4gq6d wrote

Holy shit. Has it destroyed Durham yet?

4

JojoJimboz t1_je4t7st wrote

Well i have a colonoscopy scheduled next Friday. We'll see mr scientist we'll see.

8

No-Age-2880 t1_je55eix wrote

Hope those Durham astrologers are doing okay with a black hole right next to them.

−1

DachshundsForever t1_je55lyj wrote

At what point does a black hole evaporate through Hawking radiation? Is there not a size limit?

1

i__am_unstoppable t1_je562as wrote

>""If you look at the night sky and count up all the stars and planets you can see and put them in a single point, it would be a fraction of a percent the size of this black hole."

The fuck?!

6

romansparta99 t1_je5fxwz wrote

Replying to Kokopeddle (#2,442,441)

Judging by the article above, this is a ~30 billion solar mass black hole. Compared to the Milky Way at 1.5 trillion solar masses, this black hole is 1/50th of the Milky Way. It’s important to remember that there are lots of (comparatively) small galaxies, but this black hole isn’t the size of what most of us think of when we think of galaxies. That being said, it would probably crack the top 10 for largest black holes discovered so far!

6

romansparta99 t1_je5geb9 wrote

Replying to macross1984 (#2,442,697)

Currently the biggest ones we’ve measured are in the 40-100 billion solar masses, there are a good handful bigger than the one discovered here, but your point that there are probably lots out there can be a good reminder of the size of the universe!

2

romansparta99 t1_je5gx7y wrote

Replying to DachshundsForever (#2,448,368)

Hawking radiation is an extremely slow process, for a black hole to evaporate through it takes a time frame that a human being simply can’t understand. On top of that, larger black holes take longer to disappear than smaller ones, so in this case it’s not really a concern for it.

Usually the limiting factor is on the ability to get big rather than stay big, if that makes sense! This one is a little bit below what we currently would consider the upper limits, though of course that may just be due to a lack of understanding!

3

[deleted] OP t1_je5ixcg wrote

With a black hole so big you might as well witness the end of the universe and even survive falling into the gravity well, due to time dilation and evaporation.

1

radishboy t1_je769ip wrote

Replying to Camp_Grenada (#2,442,388)

What if it eventually got so big that the heat and pressure created some sort of “big bang” that flung the matter outwards into space, and “the big bang” is just something that happens when an object reaches a certain mass. So it’s just been a series of “big bangs” and “great gatherings” all interacting with each other.

All I know about the Big Bang is that “there was a big bang” so I’m literally just making shit up but I honestly don’t know enough about space to dispute it

1

DEEP_SEA_MAX t1_je7j3w5 wrote

Replying to Zeustitandog (#2,460,336)

Except, from our perspective, that cup is expanding faster than the speed of light. The observable part of the cup we're in is all we will ever know. Even if we invented a spaceship that went the speed of light, we wouldn't be able to fly it to edge of the observable universe, let alone the edge of the cup.

0