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July 25, 2008 12:34:08 PM CDT

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Black Mini Still Has Hole Lotta Power

Posted Apr 2, 08 10:10 AM CDT in Science & Health 

(Newser) – Astronomers have spotted the smallest black hole ever discovered, Reuters reports. It is just 15 miles across—the size of a city—but still has a pull strong enough to "stretch your body into a strand of spaghetti," said a NASA researcher. The relative pipsqueak weighs about as much as four suns, while black holes often weigh billions of times more.

The black hole, found in our own galaxy, was formed when a star ran out of fuel and collapsed into its own gravity—but experts think it would have become a neutron star if it had been any smaller. "For many years, astronomers have wanted to know the smallest possible size of a black hole," a researcher said. "This little guy is a big step toward answering that question."

Source Reuters

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The black hole, 15 miles across, is one of the smallest things astronomers have ever seen outside our solar system.   (Getty Images)
This artists rendering provided by NASA shows dusty grains that can be seen blowing in the winds of a quasar, or active black hole.   (AP Photo)
An artists conception shows a black hole surrounded by a disk of hot gas, and a large doughnut or torus of cooler gas and dust. The light blue ring on the back of the torus is due to the flourescence.   (KRT Photos)
The black hole at the center of our galaxy. Scientists think a black hole recently discovered could be as strong as big ones despite being just 15 miles across.   (Getty Images)
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