Upper Mass Limit For Black Holes?

ScienceDaily ^ | Wednesday, September 10, 2008 | Royal Astronomical Society

[SunkenCiv]

Once considered rare and exotic objects, black holes are now known to exist throughout the Universe, with the largest and most massive found at the centres of the largest galaxies. These "ultra-massive" black holes have been shown to have masses upwards of one billion times that of our own Sun. Now, Priyamvada Natarajan, an associate professor of astronomy and physics at Yale University and a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, has shown that even the biggest of these gravitational monsters can't keep growing forever. Instead, they appear to curb their own growth - once they accumulate about 10 billion times the mass of the Sun.

These ultra-massive black holes, found at the centres of giant elliptical galaxies in huge galaxy clusters, are the biggest in the known Universe. Even the large black hole at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy is thousands of times less massive than these behemoths.

[SunkenCiv]

"I shudder to think what kind of caption you right wing gun-clinging xenophobes will make up."

[SunkenCiv]

[rednesss]

Did someone say ultra massive black hole????

[wac3rd]

probably gray by now, if you can find that area under the massive, pendulous belly

[LukeL]

And I was just about to eat

[wac3rd]

Sorry man.

[LtKerst]

Barack is a “Mass-Hole”

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

OMG, that headline was delivered to you on a silver platter via chauffered limo, LOL.

[Jason Kauppinen]

Ewww that was nasty.

[FDNYRHEROES]

As a citizen of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, even I find that offensive.

[InterceptPoint]

I hope this is true. It means that the whole universe won’t eventually get sucked up into one giant black hole. That is very good news for those of us who intend to live forever.

[JimRed]

Cue the little kid shouting “that’s racist!”

[JimRed]

Cue the little kid shouting “that’s racist!”

[JimRed]

OOOPS!

[Paradox]

You can put lipstick on a black hole, but it doesn’t make it any less black.

[onedoug]

Thanks for the ping. Though the article does not seem to say, why?

[brytlea]

It’s ok to repeat yourself, but it’s scary when you talk to yourself!
susie

[skinkinthegrass]

....if you can find that area under the massive, pendulous belly.....OMG! *PUKE*

[RJL]

even the biggest of these gravitational monsters can't keep growing forever. Instead, they appear to curb their own growth - once they accumulate about 10 billion times the mass of the Sun.

Wouldn't this be somewhat at odds with the big bang theory that all matter was at a single point before the big bang?

[rednesss]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042663/posts