By Jim Turnage
Although everyone has heard the term ‘black hole,’ I’m sure some of us couldn’t define it. They are dense regions of space which collapse into themselves from which nothing can escape, including light. Scientists in China have discovered a black hole six times larger than any previously seen. It is 12 billion times larger than the sun. They believe it was created 900 million years before the ‘Big Bang.’
Black holes absorb matter and create solar winds which are released in all directions creating a spherical shape. A black hole this large has produced a galaxy of huge proportions. Its quasar can be seen from millions of miles away.
Scientists have developed many theories about how black holes are formed, but one of this magnitude and from such a surprising number of years past dispute many of them.
This discovery has energized the scientists. They now believe it is not implausible to discover a black hole the size of ten suns, which was created less than one billion years after the Big Bang. They remain amazed to find one so large and so early in the creation of the universe.
Lead researcher Xue-Bing Wu is from Peking University. He said this ‘glowing light’ will help scientists learn more about the early stages of the universe.
By James Turnage
Sources:
Photo Courtesy of chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2012/m83/.
Tre'vell Hill 
Jeanette Smith