New Clues to Lifespans of Supermassive Black Holes Discovered

New Clues to Lifespans of Supermassive Black Holes Discovered: "When two galaxies merge to form a giant, in this case Markarian 231, the central supermassive black hole in the new galaxy develops an insatiable, but ultimately unsustainable appetite for cosmic gas and dust. Markarian 231 is located about 600 million light years away in the direction of the constellation of Ursa Major. Although its mass is uncertain, some estimates indicate that Mrk 231 has a mass in stars about three times that of our Milky Way galaxy and its central black hole is estimated to have a mass of at least ten million solar masses or also about three times that of the supermassive black hole in the Milky Way."