Type

Supermassive

Location

In the constellation Hydra

Distance

165 million light-years (50 megaparsecs)

Mass

31 million times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter larger than the orbit of Mercury

Discovery Methods

• Detection of an accretion disk

An X-ray close-up shows the two black holes, which are less than 500 light-years apart. [NASA/CXC/SAO/G.Fabbiano et al]

This document was last modified: March 14, 2012.