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A distant quasar’s black hole is oddly huge for its galaxy

The black hole powering the quasar has a record mass relative to the stars of the host galaxy

This illustration of a quasar shows a fiery swirl that appears reddish on the edges but gets progressively brighter and more yellow toward the center. A white streak of light shoots outward from the center and a starry sky is seen the in background.

The 1.4-billion-solar-mass black hole powering a remote quasar named ULAS J1120+0641 (illustrated) in the constellation Leo is half as massive as the stars in the surrounding galaxy, a ratio greater than that seen in any other quasar host galaxy.

M. Kornmesser/ESO

By Ken Croswell

The first-ever sighting of starlight from a galaxy hosting one of the most distant quasars known has revealed an astronomical oddity.