Astronomers Discover Supermassive , 'Monster' Black Hole , in Dim Dwarf Galaxy.<br />'The Independent' reports that scientists have <br />discovered a "mini" black hole hiding in a relatively <br />small galaxy about 110 million light years away. .<br />The "mini" black hole has a reported <br />mass estimated to be about <br />200,000 times that of the sun. .<br />It is located in a small galaxy called Mrk 462, <br />which contains just several hundred million stars. .<br />In comparison, our own Milky Way galaxy <br />contains approximately one hundred billion stars. .<br />This black hole in Mrk 462 is among <br />the smallest of the supermassive, <br />or monster, black holes. <br />Black holes like this are <br />notoriously hard to find, Jack Parker, co-author of the study, <br />Dartmouth College, via 'The Independent'.<br />Dwarf galaxies are too small and dim <br />for astronomers to track the motion of <br />the stars they contain and locate black holes. .<br />Instead, astronomers search for other signs <br />of black holes, like superheated gas <br />and brightly-glowing x-rays. .<br />Because buried black holes are even <br />harder to detect than exposed ones, <br />finding this example might mean there <br />are a lot more dwarf galaxies out <br />there with similar black holes, Ryan Hickox, astronomer and co-author <br />of the study, via 'The Independent'.<br />This is important because it could <br />help address a major question <br />in astrophysics: How did black holes <br />get so big so early in the universe?, Ryan Hickox, astronomer and co-author <br />of the study, via 'The Independent'.<br />We can’t make strong conclusions from one <br />example, but this result should encourage <br />much more extensive searches for <br />buried black holes in dwarf galaxies. <br />We’re excited about what we might learn, Jack Parker, co-author of the study, <br />Dartmouth College, via 'The Independent'
