In a study published today in Nature Astronomy, researchers from Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy have discovered a giant black hole that has grown without experiencing any significant collapse events. This remarkable finding challenges current models of how these objects form and grow, and could shed light on the nature of the early Universe.

Astronomers have long believed that giant black holes form from the collapse of large amounts of gas and dust. However, in this study, researchers used X-ray and radio observations to study the giant black hole at the center of the galaxy NGC 1277. To their surprise, they found that it is unusually large yet has not experienced any significant collapses, indicating that it has grown steadily over a long period of time. This finding suggests that the growth of giant black holes is more complicated than previously thought, and could help to unlock the mysteries of the early Universe.

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source: Phys.org