Sizes of Black Holes in Galaxy OJ 287 Relative to the Solar System
Ssc2020 11b

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)

Chart • April 29th, 2020 • ssc2020-11b

ssc2020-11b

Two supermassive black holes are locked in an orbital dance at the core of the distant galaxy OJ 287. This diagram shows their sizes relative to the solar system. The larger one, with about 18 billion times the mass of our sun (right), would encompass all the planets in the solar system with room to spare. The smaller one is about 150 million times the mass of our sun (left), which would be large enough to swallow up everything out to the asteroid belt, just inside the orbit of Jupiter.

About the Object

Name
OJ 287
Type
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Black Hole
Galaxy > Activity > AGN
Distance
4,400,000,000 Light Years
Redshift
0.30560