Alternate Names

Eye of Sauron

Type

Supermassive

Location

in the constellation Leo

Distance

43 million light-years (13.3 megaparsecs)

Mass

45 million times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter equal to the size of the orbit of Saturn

Discovery Methods

• Measuring the motions of gas
• Measuring the motions of stars

A combined X-ray (blue), optical (yellow), and radio (red) image shows the center of NGC 4151, with a ring of gas around the central black hole. [NASA/CXC/CfA/J.Wang et al.; Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, La Palma/Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope; NS]

This document was last modified: May 11, 2012.