Sizes of Black Holes in Galaxy OJ 287 Relative to the Solar System

spitzer_ssc2020-11b April 29th, 2020

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)

Two supermassive black holes are locked in an orbital dance at the core of the distant galaxy OJ 287. This diagram shows their sizes relative to the solar system. The larger one, with about 18 billion times the mass of our sun (right), would encompass all the planets in the solar system with room to spare. The smaller one is about 150 million times the mass of our sun (left), which would be large enough to swallow up everything out to the asteroid belt, just inside the orbit of Jupiter.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/6796-ssc2020-11b-Sizes-of-Black-Holes-in-Galaxy-OJ-287-Relative-to-the-Solar-System

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA