Biggest black hole in the cosmos discovered (18 billion suns)

New Scientist ^ | 1/10/08 | David Shiga

[LibWhacker]

The quasar OJ287 contains two black holes (this
slightly dated illustration lists the larger black hole's
mass as 17 billion Suns, though researchers now estimate
it is 18 billion Suns). The smaller black hole crashes
through a disc of material around the larger one twice
every orbit, creating bright outbursts (Illustration:
VISPA)

The most massive known black hole in the universe has been discovered, weighing in with the mass of 18 billion Suns. Observing the orbit of a smaller black hole around this monster has allowed astronomers to test Einstein's theory of general relativity with stronger gravitational fields than ever before.

[LibWhacker]

Wow, imagine the fireworks if and when those two merge... 18 billion suns meets 100 million suns...

[cripplecreek]

Don’t want to be within a million light years when that one pulls a gamma ray burst.

[Obadiah]

Must...refrain...from...wisecrack...

[weegee]

Now we know where all of those carbon offset dollars are going...

[weegee]

18 billion suns meets 100 million suns...

That'll be some family reunion. Is there enough potato salad in the universe?

[wastedyears]

We’re finding out now.

Obama and Clinton

[weegee]

18 billion suns can’t be wrong...

[Halgr]

he he

Seriously, when these two colide....it will be a huge GRB

[azhenfud]

Better plan to Super-size the casserole dishes.

[HamiltonJay]

Why hasn’t the smaller been completely swallowed by the larger? The mass and therfore gravitational difference is insane... the orbit of the smaller should degrade quickly I would figure... yet it seems this pair has been doing this dance for quite a while...

[laweeks]

I’m sorry . . . I thought this was about Hillary.

[bmwcyle]

And Bill and Hillary think they are so important.

[chrisser]

Hey! Isn’t one of those Michael Moore?

[advertising guy]

how in hell do they know there are 18 billion?

fuzzy math ?

[azhenfud]

".....adding that the black holes are on track to merge within 10,000 years."

I'm not waiting up with the popcorn.....;-)

[Mikey_1962]

Must...refrain...from...wisecrack...

I was thinking of a dirty crack myself......opps!

[CarrotAndStick]

Even then, the GRB will take millions of years to reach us.

[SolidWood]

If they collide it would be Bush’s fault.

[Diogenesis]

The mother of all Lagrangians must end in a sausage instability.

[weegee]

I’m willing to offer matter offset credits.

[weegee]

Women and children would be hardest hit. Especially suns.

[CarrotAndStick]

Blackholes have immense mass, right? The forces of the smaller one, as it catapults about the larger one, might just be enough to counter the pull for a million or so orbits.

[weegee]

Did the dirty crack originate on Ura**s?

[sodpoodle]

***Why hasn’t the smaller been completely swallowed by the larger?***

My question precisely. Unless, the smaller mass has more density by virtue of its diminuition.

[G L Tirebiter]

18 Billion Suns = 18 GigaSuns? Is a standard Sun a unit of measure?

[weegee]

Or maybe the universe will have a divide by zero error and we’ll all see the Blue Screen of Death.

[garyhope]

I was trying to think of some sarcastic, witty and clever comment relating this to the size of Herself’s butt or thighs or O’Blama’s coming burnout, etc., but just couldn’t stretch it long enough.

The universe is one big mother.

OK, is this big black hole as dangerous to existance as all leftism and socialism?

I personally have decided that leftism is the most dangerous force in the universe. It destroys everything.

So there.

[Beckwith]

Is he running for office?

[LonePalm]

Any daughter stars?

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[weegee]

[weegee]

There’s a dog star...

[LibWhacker]

I read an article recently that said that when two black holes merge, one-third of the total mass is converted into pure energy. In this case, the energy locked up in the mass of six billion Suns. Presumably, that energy escapes during the collision, though I can’t imagine how. The mind boggles... I don’t know if a million light years would even be a safe distance... Anyone?

[dinoparty]

This black hole is a whole lot of nothing.

[adorno]

how in hell do they know there are 18 billion?
Good questions. Also, why is the more "massive" black hole illustrated as a larger black cirlce and the smaller black hole as a smaller black circle. The way I understood black holes, all accretion goes into a singularity that is by all indications, smaller than an atom. So, shouldn't both black holes be illustrated as being the same size? Perhaps they need a different way of illustrating weight for celestial bodies.

[hellbender]

I would have thought the biggest black hole in the universe was either Barack Obama, Jesse Jackson, or Al Sharpton.

[LibWhacker]

Yes, it is. Astronomers often speak in terms of how many solar masses an object contains: black holes, giant stars, galaxies, etc.

[ovrtaxt]

Why yes, and it has the mass of 18 billion moons.

[Nam Vet]

Now you've done it !!!

That idiot O'reilly will label us racist again because YOU mentioned Obama in a thread about black holes. /sarcasm

Nam Vet

[CarrotAndStick]

I thought blackholes had a difference in mass, depending on the amount of matter that went into it... more mass absorbed = more massive blackhole, with bigger gravity effects surrounding it.

[zencat]

Is a standard Sun a unit of measure?

In fact it is. Although it's usually called a 'solar mass' in astronomy. The sun is used to determine the necessary mass for stellar ignition, calculating novas, neutron stars, supernovas, black holes, etc.

It's the closest, most observable frame of reference we have.

[Centurion2000]

Crickey a 12647 AU orbital axis and it makes an orbit in 12 years? Holy crap that sucker is moving is FAST. Must be close to 14,000 km/second in orbital velocity.

[dead]

Biggest black hole in the cosmos discovered

[adorno]

I thought blackholes had a difference in mass, depending on the amount of matter that went into it... more mass absorbed = more massive blackhole, with bigger gravity effects surrounding it.

Bigger gravity, yes. But, bigger size? I thought not! If a singularity is of just one size, then the illustration would have to be of equal sizes for both black holes.

[LibWhacker]

I’m pretty sure they could orbit each other for billions of years, no problem (though this precession business might be sapping energy from the system), just like tiny Pluto has orbited the Sun for 4.5 billion years. It’s only when the orbit decays enough that the smaller black hole begins to smash through the accretion disk of the larger black hole that the orbital decay really accelerates.

[frithguild]

I am not sure the star registry allows you to name black holes. I was going to name these two Al and Jesse...

[shbox]

Under those types of gravitational forces extremes, ten times all of mankind can be squeezed into the area of a microchip.

Under that amount of pressure, the Empire State Building would easily be squeezed to the size of a human skin cell.

The quasars are so dense, a single drop of the material would weigh 200million tons.

[LibWhacker]

The illustration is not of the black hole, proper, but of the event horizon which, of course, is larger for more massive black holes.

[advertising guy]

that’s my understanding as well..........

[shbox]

The distance from the Sun to the Earth (one atronomical unit)is also a standard measurement.

[adorno]

The illustration is not of the black hole, proper, but of the event horizon which, of course, is larger for more massive black holes.

You might be right, but...

If the event horizon is a major trait of the black hole "environment" why is the accretion disk illustrated and not the event horizon?