Scientists discover black hole so big it contradicts growth theory

With a mass 12 billion times that of our Sun, the black hole formed about 900 million years after the Big Bang that created the Universe 13.7 billion years ago — a very short period in galactic history, the surprised team reported in the journal Nature. Scientists cannot explain how the newly found black hole grew so quickly. Theoretically, it could not have fed off surrounding gas as fast and as long as it would have needed to reach its massive size under currently understood laws of physics.

Based on previous research, this is the largest black hole found for that period of time.

Dr Fuyan Bian, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University

Scientist say one option is that two massive black holes in the early universe collided, forming an even larger black hole. The creation of supermassive black holes remains an open topic of research. Black holes grow, scientific theory suggests, as they absorb mass. However, as mass is absorbed, it will be heated creating radiation pressure, which pushes the mass away from the black hole.

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