[ad_1]
When people think of a black hole, they usually imagine a cosmic being burning, a million or a billion times bigger than our sun. However, not all black holes are super massive, and the smaller ones are also important.
A team of scientists from the University of Michigan measured the mass of a small black hole in a nearby dwarf galaxy, estimating the black hole about 40 times smaller than what the researchers had previously thought.
The object, located in the center of the dwarf galaxy NGC 4395, is about 10,000 times the mass of the sun, the researchers determined.
Related: Eureka! Black hole photographed for the first time
Although astronomers believe that every galaxy the size or larger than the Milky Way is home a supermassive black hole at its center, researchers know little about the black holes of small galaxies – nor about the existence of black holes in all galaxies.
"Do these galaxies have black holes, and if so, do they have the same scale as the supermassive black holes?" Elena Gallo, professor of astronomy at the University of Michigan and lead author of the study, said in a declaration.
By examining these relatively small black holes, scientists hope to better understand the supermassive black holes that occupy larger galaxies, the researchers said. They also want to determine how black holes affect the properties of these galaxies.
"Answering these questions could help us understand the very mechanism by which these monster black holes were assembled when the universe was in its infancy," added Gallo.
In order to measure the mass of the black hole, the researchers used a technique called reverb mapping, which measures the radiation emitted by a rotating disc around a black hole.
Scientists aim to apply the same measurement techniques to supermassive black holes, the statement said.
"This adds a new member to the family of black holes on which we have information," said Gallo.
The results were published on June 10 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Follow the Rabie passerby on Twitter @passantrabie. follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
[ad_2]
Source link