You read that right, the largest black hole ever has been discovered 220-million light years away in the constellation Perseus. This massive black hole could have the mass of up to 17-billion suns, and is 11-times wider than the orbit of Neptune, the eighth planet in our Solar System. Continue reading for a video and more information.
This super massive black hole at the heart of NGC1277 makes up 14% of the galaxy's mass. In comparison, other black holes found at the centers of galaxies only account for around 0.1%. For those who don't already know, black holes are basically formed from matter collapsing to the point where normal laws of physics break down. Their gravity is so strong that space and time are distorted, and not even light can escape. According to lead scientist Dr Karl Gebhardt, from the University of Texas at Austin: 'This is a really oddball galaxy. It's almost all black hole. This could be the first object in a new class of galaxy-black hole systems.'