American astronomers have discovered the biggest black hole orbiting a star 1.8 million light years from earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. It has a record-setting mass 24 to 33 times that of the sun.
Stellar-mass black holes have such powerful gravity fields that not even light can escape them. Astronomers estimate their mass by measuring their gas emissions and the gravitational effect on the stars they orbit.
Excerpt from The Hindu, Madurai, November 1, 2007
Grateful thanks to: AFP and The Hindu
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