Black hole discovery suggests critical role to galaxy formation

Posted on Wednesday, January 12 2011 @ 7:25 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Astronomers have discovered have discovered a black hole about a million times the mass of a star inside the nearby dwarf galaxy Henize 2-10. The discovery provides further evidence for the theory that black holes may play a vital role in the formation of (some?) galaxies.
Henize 2-10 lacks a bulge — a dense collection of stars that exists at the center of most spiral galaxies. Usually, the mass of a galaxy's bulge directly correlates with the mass of its central black hole. Some researchers thought a galaxy had to already have a bulge before a black hole could form.

"This definitely suggests the black hole comes first, because Henize 2-10 is a very low-mass dwarf galaxy without a detectable bulge, yet it does already have a supermassive black hole sitting there," said study leader Amy Reines, a graduate student at the University of Virginia. "So the implication is you don't have to have a bulge to form a black hole."

Yet more research will be needed to determine if this is the usual case, or if Henize 2-10 is just an oddball.
More info at Space.com.


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Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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