Scientists discover an inactive black hole with a mass of about half its galaxy

Scientists from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have discovered one of the oldest inactive supermassive black holes, with a mass of about half the mass of its galaxy.

Scientists, using the American James Webb Telescope, discovered an inert supermassive black hole, whose mass is 40% of the mass of its galaxy.

The study says: “The ratio of the black hole’s mass to the total mass of the galaxy is about 40%, or about 1,000 times the typical ratio.”

The University of Cambridge points out in its article that the object discovered in the galaxy (GN-1001830) is also one of the most massive objects among black holes, with a mass of 400 million solar masses.

According to the study, the black hole formed only 800 million years after the Big Bang, while the universe is about 13.8 billion years old, making the object one of the oldest known black holes.

However, the black hole is devouring matter around it at a rate about 100 times less than the theoretical maximum, which puts it in the “inert” category, which also makes the object less visible due to the weak glow around it.

According to the study published by the scientific journal Nature, scientists assume that the “sleep” stage in black holes follows a period of ultra-rapid growth.