Astronomers have discovered a massive black hole, estimated to be 36 billion times the mass of the Sun, located within the Cosmic Horseshoe system. To put that into perspective, Sagittarius A* and TON 618*, two previously discovered supermassive black holes, are significantly smaller, with masses around one million and 40-60 billion times the Sun’s mass, respectively.
The existence of this enormous black hole is believed to explain the Cosmic Horseshoe’s unusual appearance. Scientists suggest that gravitational lensing caused by a foreground galaxy may be warping space-time due to the massive black hole at its center. The team used data from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to support their claim.
The discovery highlights the importance of ongoing missions, such as the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope, which aims to create a “map of the large-scale structure of the universe.” This map may shed more light on dark matter and its role in shaping galaxy evolution.
Source: https://futurism.com/scientists-discover-black-hole-cosmic-horseshoe