Messier 87*
Supermassive black hole
The first black hole ever photographed, revealed by the Event Horizon Telescope in 2019. At 6.5 billion solar masses its event horizon is wider than our entire solar system.
6.5 billion ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
128 AU
event-horizon radius (computed)
54 million ly
from Earth
Mass is a best estimate from the cited observations, which carry their own measurement uncertainty.
Its event horizon, the edge past which nothing returns, spans about 128 AU in radius.
It anchors
Messier 87
Elliptical galaxy, 54 million ly away.
Black holes of similar mass
Sombrero Central Black HoleSupermassive1.0 billion ☉M31*Supermassive140.0 million ☉Bode's Galaxy Central Black HoleSupermassive70.0 million ☉Centaurus A Central Black HoleSupermassive55.0 million ☉Messier 106 Central Black HoleSupermassive39.0 million ☉Sgr A*Supermassive4.3 million ☉
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→