Hubble Catches Intermediate-Sized Black Hole

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope revealed that most galaxies have supermassive black holes at their centers, but there's a mysterious middle category that's been nearly impossible to find: intermediate mass black holes. These elusive objects only are incredibly difficult to detect.

Hubble and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory teamed up to study one of these rare items in galaxy NGC 6099. Chandra detected scorching X-rays at three million degrees while Hubble revealed an incredibly dense cluster of stars packed together, creating the perfect feeding ground for a hungry black hole.

This discovery shows how different space telescopes working together across multiple wavelengths can unveil the complete story of these cosmic phenomena, helping us understand the full spectrum of black holes shaping our universe.


For more information, visit science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Paul Morris: Lead Producer

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