Scientists have discovered a giant black hole which seems to defy the theoretical limit by growing at the record-breaking 2.4x speed.
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has spotted the black hole, called RACS J0320-35, which is found to be devouring the materials at 2.4 times the already predicted speed, the Eddington limit.
According to a team led by astrophysicist Luca Ighina of the Harvard & Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, this documented speed is one of the fastest rates ever recorded.
‘It was a bit stunning to see this black hole growing by leaps and bounds,’ said Luca, the study author.
The monster black hole is surrounded by large amounts of matter, including gas, dust, and other stellar debris.
After consuming these materials, the black hole emits intense radiation which can be detected by the Chandra telescope.
Astrophysicist Thomas Connor said, “How did the Universe create the first generation of black holes? This remains one of the biggest questions in astrophysics and this one object is helping us chase down the answer.”
Black holes usually grow through the merging with other black holes and accretion, eating up the surrounding matter.
The black hole, RACS J0320-35 is located 12.8 billion light–years away and is officially in the upper range of supermassive classification for black holes. Surprisingly, it is still growing with an unstoppable appetite.