Fastest-growing black hole of past 9bn years may have been found, Australian-led astronomers say

Astronomers think they've found the fastest-growing black hole in the last 9 billion years.

They think the black hole has the mass of 3 billion suns and consumes the equivalent of one Earth every second.

The quasar was discovered using a 1.3-metre telescope in New South Wales.

The object is 7,000 times more powerful than the light in the sky.

There is a black hole at the center of the universe.

The black hole is more or less halfway across the universe according to the leader of the research.

He said that the light from the black hole has traveled for 7 billion years. The big bang is thought to have taken place about 13 billion years ago.

The scientists found that J 1144 was the most Luminous quasar in the last 9 billion years.

The mergers between galaxies were more common earlier in the history of the universe.

There is still no explanation for J 1144. The black hole may have been caused by two big galaxies colliding and funnelling gas towards it.

He said that people have been looking for black holes since the 1960s. Something so bright has escaped a lot of searches over the years.

It may be due to its position in the night sky that J 1144 has not been found for so long. People have avoided looking very close to the plane of the Milky Way because there are so many stars.

There have been searches that stopped looking at 25 degrees. The source is close to 18 degrees.

Black holes can be seen because of the matter that swirls around them.

If there is a lot of gas and dust being pushed on to the black hole, it will spit a lot.

She said that quasars are a type of black hole jet.

Most of the universe has a black hole at its center.

Black holes don't have any special sucking power beyond their ability to pull things towards them, according to Onken.

The motions of the planets around the sun wouldn't change much if you shrunk the sun down to a black hole.

The black hole in the Milky Way is four times the size of the sun.

The amateur astronomer can see J 1144. You need a telescope that is 30 to 40 cm across to see it with your eye.

Adrian Lucy, a PhD student, was looking for close pairs of stars in the sky.

The research has not yet been peer-reviewed and has been published as a preprint.