Posted on by Evan Gough

Astronomers Find a Supermassive Black Hole That’s Feasting on a Regular Schedule, Every 9 Hours

The supermassive black hole at the heart of galaxy GSN 069 has a unique, regular feeding schedule. Every 9 hours it flares with x-rays as it consumes matter. Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXO/CSIC-INTA/G.Miniutti et al.; Optical: DSS.

Astronomers have found a supermassive black hole (SMBH) with an unusually regular feeding schedule. The behemoth is an active galactic nucleus (AGN) at the heart of the Seyfert 2 galaxy GSN 069. The AGN is about 250 million light years from Earth, and contains about 400,000 times the mass of the Sun.

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