Newly discovered massive black hole ‘should not even exist,' astronomers say
by Kelli Dugan, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
The discovery of a massive black hole so monstrous it should not exist has left astronomers worldwide stumped, Astronomy magazine reported.
An article published Wednesday by Chinese researchers in the journal Nature confirmed the discovery of LB-1, a black hole about 15,000 light years away with a mass 70 times greater than that of our sun, or more than three times as massive as researchers previously thought possible.
“Black holes of such mass should not even exist in our galaxy, according to most of the current models of stellar evolution,” Liu Jifeng, who led the team, said in the article, adding, “Now theorists will have to take up the challenge of explaining its formation.”
According to CNN, LB-1 is not the biggest black hole ever discovered, but it could potentially be the largest of its kind.