The fastest-growing black hole ever seen is swallowing the mass equivalent of an entire Earth every second.

 

Black hole spreading in Size

A groundbreaking discovery by an international research team has unveiled the existence of an incredibly fast-growing black hole. This colossal celestial object engulfs matter at an astonishing rate, devouring the equivalent mass of an entire Earth every second. With a mass three billion times greater than that of the sun, this black hole has been observed expanding rapidly through a process known as accretion, where it draws in matter from a rotating disk of gas and dust surrounding it.

What makes this finding even more remarkable is that most black holes of similar size ceased growing billions of years ago. However, this newly discovered black hole continues to expand, now reaching a size 500 times larger than Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole residing at the core of the Milky Way. Its event horizon, the boundary beyond which nothing can escape, has grown to a scale where it could encompass the entire solar system.

The swift accumulation of matter onto the black hole's surface has also resulted in the emission of an incredibly powerful quasar, emitting energy that surpasses the combined brightness of all the stars in the Milky Way by a factor of 7,000. This extraordinary quasar, designated as SMSS J114447.77-430859.3, holds the distinction of being the most luminous quasar observed for roughly two-thirds of the universe's 13.8 billion-year history.

When viewed from Earth, the quasar shines with a magnitude of 14.5, making it slightly dimmer than Pluto but still significantly bright. This means that skywatchers equipped with high-quality telescopes in exceptionally dark areas may have the potential to spot this celestial phenomenon.