Astronomers observe possible black hole booted 2,600 light-years from host galaxy

Astronomers have recently discovered a mysterious object, which appears to be a possible black hole that has been booted 2,600 light-years from its host galaxy's core.

An international team of researchers analyzing decades of observations from many facilities; including the W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, the Pan-STARRS1 telescope on Haleakala and NASA's Swift satellite has observed the event.

The mystery object is part of the dwarf galaxy Markarian 177, located in the bowl of the Big Dipper, a well-known star pattern within the constellation Ursa Major.

Although supermassive black holes usually occupy galactic centers, SDSS1133 was located at least 2,600 light-years from its host galaxy's core. The team was able to detect it in astronomical surveys dating back more than 60 years.

Laura Blecha, an Einstein Fellow in the University of Maryland's Department of Astronomy, said that they expect it to be the aftermath of a merger of two small galaxies and their central black holes or "kicks," in merging black holes.

If SDSS1133 isn't a black hole, then it must have been a very unusual type of star known as a Luminous Blue Variable (LBV). These stars undergo episodic eruptions that cast large amounts of mass into space long before they explode.

Interpreted in this way, SDSS1133 would represent the longest period of LBV eruptions ever observed, followed by a terminal supernova explosion whose light reached Earth in 2001.

Whether it's a rogue supermassive black hole or the closing act of a rare star, it seems astronomers have never seen the likes of SDSS1133 before.

The study will be published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.