Whatever gave birth to this monster can be real proud. The biggest black hole in the universe weighs in with a respectable mass of 18 billion Suns, and is about the size of an entire galaxy. Just like in the Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito flick “Twins”, the massive black hole has a puny twin hovering nearby. By observing the orbit of the smaller black hole, astronomers are able to test Einstein's theory of general relativity with stronger gravitational fields than ever before. The biggest black hole beats out its nearest competitor by six times. Fortunately, it’s 3.5 billion light years away, forming the heart of a quasar called OJ287. Quasars are extremely bright objects in which matter spiraling into a giant black hole emits large amounts of radiation. The smaller black hole, which weighs about 100 million Suns, orbits the larger one on an oval-shaped path every 12 years. It comes close enough to punch through the disc of matter surrounding the larger black hole twice each orbit, causing a pair of outbursts that make OJ287 suddenly brighten. General relativity predicts that the smaller hole's orbit itself should rotate over time, so that the point at which it comes nearest its neighbor moves around in space.

This effect is seen in Mercury's orbit around the Sun, on a much smaller scale. In the case of OJ287, the tremendous gravitational field of the larger black hole causes the smaller black hole's orbit to precess at an impressive 39° each orbit. The precession changes where and when the smaller hole crashes through the disc surrounding its larger sibling.

View: Full Article | Source: Daily Galaxy

Oh wow, that thing is huge!

Makes me wonder how much more of the universe we haven't explored and if they'll find ones possibly twice the size of this one. You never know, only time will tell.

I wouldn't mind seeing the effect of when those two black holes' discs cross paths. Shame I don't think I'll be able to without an extremely high-powered telescope.

About the size of a galaxy? Perhaps this is the start of a new galaxy itself/how glaxies are created?

wtf, it's THAT big and something makes a full orbit around it just in 12 YEARS ??? At what speed then ???

A black hole with the size of an entire galaxy and with a mass of only 18 billion Suns that have a smaller black hole that orbits it every 12th year? It makes no sense... Dont they mean that the black hole has a mass of an entire galaxy and not the size? Im sure the distance around the black hole is far shorter then the distance around a galaxy. Or is there galaxys that are very small?

Wouldn't the larger black hole suck in the smaller one or even cause it to collapse? Maybe in time, I guess.

How big are most black holes? And i just know that thing is HUGE!! Words probably can't describe this thing's size! lol. Like what Bear's Quest said, wouldn't the larger one affect the smaller one in any way except orbit? And while I'm at it, what happens if one black hole sucks up another... if that's even possible.

^ Wouldn't it be going really fast because it is being sucked in to the larger one? Think of something floating in the sink and then pulling the plug. It gets faster and faster as it gets closer to being sucked in.

?

But the smaller black hole would be sucking back. I'm not sure what would happen, but perhaps putting the ends of two vacuums together and turning them both on might gain us some basic insight?

Yes but one vacuum is a straw and the other is an industrial size vacuum, If not bigger.

TRUE THAT!!

The little one would get pwned like a n00b

I never thought two black holes could orbit one another. This is strange. What does relativity predict would happen
if the black holes were to collide?

That should be interesting. The amount of matter is intense. The black hole is probably not that big just has a lot of
density.

It would be fascinating if there was a way to find out what goes on inside a black hole. Maybe this is how other universes start?

When two black holes collide they merge, they form an even large black hole. At their center their singularities merge and become one.

Impossible, galaxies are not created by the death of suns, Red dwarfs, white dwarfs or black holes.

Firstly, black holes suck in all matter, not even light can escape it, and secondly if light cannot escape it there is a slim chance of life being created by a vortex of that magnitude. The law of General Relativity denies the occurance of this phenomenon.

Thanks GUNNARYSEARGENTHARTMAN

Once again, as I commented earlier life CANNOT be created by a black hole it is physically impossoble, it simply defies all sorts of laws of physics, like the theory of general relativity.

Life cannot be created by something that sucks in all types of matter around it, even light.

THIS IS MY COMMENT EARLIER:

Impossible, galaxies / universes are not created by the death of suns, Red dwarfs, white dwarfs or black holes.

Firstly, black holes suck in all matter, not even light can escape it, and secondly if light cannot escape it there is a slim chance of life being created by a vortex of that magnitude. The law of General Relativity denies the occurance of this phenomenon.

Thanks, GUNNARYSEARGENTHARTMAN

what's that seargent?? I missed it the first two times repeat it once more please

HaHaHa look at the funny guy. Just shney, shut your mouth and jog on. I repeated it because i was answering two questions that wer linked.


Unlucky maybe later, oh and keep your quick jiibes to yourself, its not our fault you get kicks out of commenting sarcastically, if you want to say something, make it to do with the board, and not that you cant read, seeing as I repeated it, you funnily said that you missed it so ive naturally assumed you either cant read or your so sarcastic and cocky that you laugh at your own jiibes and that you think your clever.


Thanks GUNNARYSEARGENTHARTMAN

Introducing the next phase of vacuum cleaning ... the Dyson Back Hole. Guaranteed to clean the dust right out of the Universe.

Ugh... We have a large black hole in the centre of our galaxy...

I see what you mean with this black hole in question, I was just vaguing it up to include your average joe black hole.

What is on the other side/space of a black hole? Does light and everything else sucked in get oblivionated somehow, or does it change and emit elsewhere or on another plane? I have never really comprehended that aspect of the explanations of black holes. Does anyone here know, in layman's terms?

Thanks,
NS

that is a big black hole..there must be a major Fractal out there twisting.

what happens when the black hole keeps on expanding and eventually consume the whole universe?

The answer to both questions is probable yes.

The two black holes will not merge unless the smaller one crosses the event zone of the bigger hole. Since it is in orbit around the bigger one it will probabe never cross that line. Unless affected by an outside source.


The galaxy Andromada also has two black holes in orbit around each other. In this case if I remember right they are about the same size. These are in the core of that galaxy.


Also galaxies can be very small. The small ones we call clouds. There are at least 5 of these clouds near our's, once thought to be in orbit of ours.


Stargate Atlantis takes place in one of these clouds.

In lamens terms, there is no other side to a black hole, well as far as we know. A black hole is just what it says on the tin, black= darkness. No one knows what happens to matter when it is sucked into the vortex, we dont know, because our prediction is that matter is oblivinated as you so well put it

But on a serious note, the only way to find out what happens is either too experience it yourself, (youll probably have to wait til the sun burns out, about 10 trillion years, and even then, not all dieing suns become black holes, so its a game of chance) or watch it through a highly advanced telescope, or the next thing you could do, is wait, until some highly advanced technology develops so that you can experience it by watching on a tv or actually being there and having some kind of special clamp or something to stop the gravitational pull affecting the ship.


Until then we wont know the answer to your question, only educated quesses and assumptions.

Thanks, GUNNARYSEARGENTHARTMAN

answer

That wouldnt happen, firstly the vast expanse of the universe is so big that it has a lot of nooks and crannys, we dont even know how big it actually is.

Thanks, GUNNARYSEARGENTHARTMAN

Our sun isn't big enough to become a black hole. it was only go nova. not super nova. Just ends up as a burnt out body. in about 6 billion years.



however if it were to become a black hole. It would be about 8 inches wide. all the planets would stay in the orbits that they are in now.

Actually we do. It is between 24 billion to 30 billion light years across. This is assuming that the big bang took place 12 to 15 billion years ago.

I don't think black holes have an "other side". They are three-dimensional like a soccer ball - not flat like a manhole cover. Maybe they are the 4-D equivalent to a manhole cover.

The main word you just said is assuming. the definition for assuming is this: 1. to take for granted or without proof; suppose; postulate; posit: e.g to assume that everyone wants peace.

Therefore, postulations, assumptions and educated guesses are the foundations to our understanding of the size of the universe and its age. I think we should all be in agreement that, firstly, this black hole may be huge, but its not that huge compared to the size of the universe and that frankly this black hole wont suck up the whole universe, its has an expiry date lol, just like a carton of milk lol.

So, to your comment Danielost, in some parts I would agree, and in others I wouldnt.


Thanks GUNNARYSEARGENTHARTMAN



P.S A black hole is not a carton of milk, I was merely sizing it down to something everyone knows about = the expiry date on a carton of milk

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
-Epicurus 340 - 270 BCE

===============================================


What if he is both able and willing but won't

Can one black hole get sucked into another black hole?

How can things just disappear when they enter a black hole? Is their mass converted to energy or something?

Then he needs to get some serious help because he is schizophrenic.

Sorry, but the topic...... Black holes? Lets talk about that instead of schizophrenia?

Thanks, GUNNARYSEARGENTHARTMAN

Its like you eating, everytime it sucks up mass, it expands, therefore the mass is converted to energy.


Thanks, GUNNARYSEARGENTHARTMAN

Jeeze I hope it never ends up in our neck of the woods*doesnt understand much about black holes*

The theory seems to agree that they merge and become one bigger black hole, as I (barely) understand it, Siara.



This is what I wonder about, too . When I asked about the other side, I didn't mean literally the view from the other side of this cosmos, but the other side of the inhalation effect. Is it another plane? Somewhere Other than the here we see through our telescopes? Is it a creating effect on the other side of that?

Or after all the energy releases and destruction, does it just sit there as a big mass, like a humongous garbage compacter? (I don't think this is the likely answer, but I don't know).

I wonder this sort of thing, but think maybe nobody knows as yet. I have always been intrigued by black holes, since I was a kid and read about them and decided they were like thumbtacks and kept space stretched out instead of rolling up lol. My science teacher just sort of stared when I gave my opinion....

If reincarnation is true, I wanna come back as a physicist and astronomer, genius grade, and understand this sort of thing better.

Thanks for the comments from others to my original question.

NS

lol


its Gods trash compactor

It's too bad that we can only see black holes from one angle. It would be interesting to see one from the side and the back. Are they spherical? It's strange that they call them "holes". It makes me wonder, holes in what? If something can have a hole in it that implies that it exists inside of something bigger than it is.

Are you asking me a question?
Black holes are scary-cool. Stay on topic pls k thx.

What the hell? I even said lets talk ABOUT BLACK HOLES AND NOT SCHISOPHRENIA!!!!

Grr, read in the right context please!!
Thanks, GUNNARYSEARGENTHARTMAN

You are the one that keeps mentioning the "S" word.

I think Black Holes will eventually be the only matter in existence.

No more talk about sc***ia pls k thx.

They are believed to be spherical. There is no front or back or side.

I think "galaxy-sized" is pushing it a bit. A black hole with the mass of 18 billion suns will have a Schwarzschild radius that's about 9 times the average Sun-Pluto distance. Still a monster, no doubt, but nowhere near the size of a galaxy.

see now i can imagine that distance and thats scary