Intermediate mass black holes and revelations

Just like the popular Muse album Black Holes and Revelations, an international research team led by a Sydney astronomer has found that a newly discovered type of black hole – an intermediate mass black hole – reveals clues on how galaxies are formed. The first intermediate mass black hole, called HLX-1, was discovered in 2009. The latest work examines how they form, which furthers our understanding of how galaxies themselves may form. Focusing on HLX-1 as the prototype of the new class of black hole, the research team has detected the presence of a very young massive cluster of stars around it.

Dr Sean Farrell, Sydney Institute for Astronomy, University of Sydney

Astrophysical Journal