Alternate Names
Mayall II
Type
Location
near the Andromeda galaxy (M31)
Distance
2.3 million light-years (0.76 megaparsecs)
Mass
14,000 to 23,000 times the mass of the Sun
Size
52,000-86,000 miles (84,000-138,000 km), roughly equivalent to the diameter of Jupiter
Discovery Methods
Measuring the motions of stars
Because a black hole is both massive and compact, it exerts a strong gravitational pull on the material around it. Astronomers can deduce the presence of a supermassive black hole in the core of a galaxy by measuring the velocities of stars that orbit the black hole. A more-massive black hole will accelerate nearby stars to greater speeds, so the velocities of stars can reveal not only the presence of a black hole, but its mass as well.
More about black hole discovery methods »
This document was last modified: November 8, 2011.
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