Hubble Space Telescope spots the smallest known galaxy containing a supermassive black hole

(M60-UCD1 – Photo Credit: NASA/ESA/CXC/J. Strader)

Astronomers, using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, have discovered an unlikely cosmic object in a highly improbable location: a monster supermassive black hole located inside one of the smallest galaxies ever known.

NASA observes distant black hole blurring xrays and bending space and time

(Artist’s concept of a black hole and its corona, pictured here as the white light at the base of the jet – Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) has witnessed an extreme and rare event in the region immediately surrounding a supermassive black hole.

Not one, but three supermassive black holes discovered at core of distant galaxy

(Artists conception of a black hole – Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

For the first time, three supermassive black holes have been identified in the centre of a galaxy located four billion light-years away. Locked in a tight embrace, this is the most compact trio of black holes known to date. The discovery, made by radio telescopes located in Europe, Asia and South Africa, even suggests that these closely packed systems of black holes could be more common than previously thought.

Astronomers observe supermassive black hole expelling fast stream of gas

(Artist concept of matter swirling around a black hole – Photo Credit: NASA/Dana Berry/SkyWorks Digital)

An international team of astronomers have discovered some unusual behaviour from a supermassive black hole, located 244.6 million light-years away from Earth, at the heart of galaxy NGC 5548. Although unexpected, its behaviour could provide valuable new insights into how supermassive black holes interact with their host galaxies.

Image of the Day: 16/6/14

(Photo Credit: ESA/NASA/Hubble/ R. Buta)

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured another amazing picture, this time of the golden rings of distant galaxy, NGC 3081, alongside an assortment of glittering galaxies which are visible in the background.