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Feb 12

Hubble finds relic of a shredded galaxy

Source: ESA/Hubble Science Release heic1203


Star cluster surrounds wayward black hole in cannibal galaxy ESO 243-49.
Image credits: NASA, ESA, and S. Farrell (University of Sydney, Australia and University of Leicester, UK).

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have found a cluster of young blue stars surrounding a mid-sized black hole called HLX-1. The discovery suggests that the black hole formed in the core of a now-disintegrated dwarf galaxy. The findings have important implications for understanding the evolution of supermassive black holes and galaxies. (read more)

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