NASA Animation Sizes Up the Biggest Black Holes

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this video mislabeled the orbit of Saturn as the orbit of Jupiter.
This new NASA animation highlights the “super” in supermassive black holes. These monsters lurk in the centers of most big galaxies, including our own Milky Way, and contain between 100,000 and tens of billions of times more mass than our Sun.
Any light crossing the event horizon - the black hole’s point of no return - becomes trapped forever, and any light passing close to it is redirected by the black hole’s intense gravity. Together, these effects produce a “shadow” about twice the size of the black hole’s actual event horizon.
The animation shows 10 supersized black holes that occupy center stage in their host galaxies, including the Milky Way and M87, scaled by the sizes of their shadows. Starting near the Sun, the camera steadily pulls back to compare ever-larger black holes to different structures in our solar system.
First up is 1601+3113, a dwarf galaxy hosting a black hole packed with the mass of 100,000 Suns. The matter is so compressed that even the black hole’s shadow is smaller than our Sun.
The black hole at the heart of our own galaxy, called Sagittarius A* (pronounced ay-star), boasts the weight of 4.3 million Suns based on long-term tracking of stars in orbit around it. It’s shadow diameter spans about half that of Mercury’s orbit in our solar system.
The animation shows two monster black holes in the galaxy known as NGC 7727. Located about 1,600 light-years apart, one weighs 6 million solar masses and the other more than 150 million Suns. Astronomers say the pair will merge within the next 250 million years.
At the animation’s larger scale lies M87’s black hole, now with a updated mass of 5.4 billion Suns. Its shadow is so big that even a beam of light - traveling at 670 million mph (1 billion kph) - would take about two and a half days to cross it.
The movie ends with TON 618, one of a handful of extremely distant and massive black holes for which astronomers have direct measurements. This behemoth contains more than 60 billion solar masses, and it boasts a shadow so large that a beam of light would take weeks to traverse it.
Music credit: "In the Stars" from Universal Production Music
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
Lead Producer: Scott Wiessinger (KBRwyle)
Lead Animator: Krystofer Kim (KBRwyle)
Lead Science writer: Francis Reddy (University of Maryland College Park)
Visualizer: Jeremy Schnittman (NASA/GSFC)
Producer: Sophia Roberts (AIMM)
Scientist: Jeremy Schnittman (NASA/GSFC)
This video can be freely shared and downloaded at svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14335. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, the music and some individual imagery may have been obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. Specific details on such imagery may be found here: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14335. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines.
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[@Frantixj]

Does this mean I don't have to work tomorrow?

[@diveshsharma7043]

😂 😂 😂

[@3405kmtilHolte]

😂 💦

[@PraveenKumarDodla]

A very valid question 😂😂😂😂😂

[@DedicatedSlaya]

"I'm Done!!!" (sound of door slam, car peeling off) 🤣👍

[@d6vidrv]

yes

[@maurenovick]

Space is both fascinating and terrifying!!

[@timmerken]

Terrinating!

[@mrcat926]

Super terrifying

[@mammontustado9680]

​@@timmerkenfascifying! 😅

[@doggystyledave]

😍 ... and faked! Baa Baaa!

[@ModernSynthesist]

This is AMAZING! I now understand what is meant by "Super massive" 🤯

[@uk4490]

It must have a super nice personality too.

[@marufadi]

​@@uk4490 two nice personalities to be exact

[@Black-bn6ic]

@@uk4490 Once you go black, you never go back. Literally in this case.

[@Fezgo]

Ton 618 is considered 'ultra massive' ;)

[@DBitRun]

Wow! That last one can practically swallow our entire Solar System and more! 😱

[@shweta1322]

It can fit more than 11 solar systems

[@NoahCanFB]

Practically? It'd eat up thousands of our solar system no problem

[@criscriscriscris]

@@shweta1322 it’s actually around 1000 times bigger than our solar system!

[@shweta1322]

@@criscriscriscris nah bro it's too much

[@adityarajsingh8110]

I think it can easily engulf our entire milky way and Andromeda galaxy

[@ChuuyasTackyHat]

These are beautiful yet teriffying and send shivers down my whole spine.

[@rajithskumar]

There are even more such wonders yet to be discovered which may gives either goosebumps or fear in ourselves

[@darshan303]

We are nothing in this universe but we still have so much ego to be proud of and fight for material things....

[@crateer]

This should put our so called "problems" into perspective!

[@SiriHakuoh]

@@crateer LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL Literally!!! xD

[@0condolences]

corny af

[@sanjeevdandin9350]

Enable humanity to be capable of interstellar travels then we will let go of fighting for material things. Till then deal with it.

[@helenafonseca8606]

This gave me goosebumps.

[@carmamd]

😮😮 very nice animation for comparisons. Visual comparisons help me grasp. Relative size is better than comparative masses.

[@diveshsharma7043]

People having ego problems must watch this video.

[@anthonyn5385]

TON 618!! What a monster.

[@christiansiegert9895]

Stunning visuals!

[@trumpsucks2290]

wow! its frightening there are powerful objects like this out there.

[@PROJaiRU]

And yet , you almost was killed by and invisible covid virus

[@antonioturner3835]

​@@PROJaiRU fr id say we would be zcrewed up there but these are millions of lightyears away making it practically impossible for us to go anywhere, well without cryo pods and unlimited fuel

[@shubhamwr]

@@antonioturner3835 we still won't have unlimited time.

[@LiberumCogitandi]

Thanks to video operator for great work!

[@ilonastezowska9498]

Brilliant video. Scary stuff.

[@Dizmo215]

Omg this is scary 😢and insane ,crazy huge,how these monsters are created 😮

[@legitskateclips]

thats what she said

[@Dwaxxx]

​@@legitskateclips You got me 😂

[@WAVEZCLUB]

MIND BLOWING..... We are just Tardigrade to these Behemoths

[@cpasket122]

Way smaller than tardigrades. Probably smaller than most bacteria. But yes, as you said it’s mind blowing

[@AhhTheBonnie]

We’re Quarks

[@christianyobel117]

We're Quacks

[@orllop620]

@@christianyobel117 Quacks makes more sense that quarks

[@xGORJAx]

I'd say we're even smaller than that in comparison. Like whatever makes up quarks.

[@Fenelon00]

Fascynuje i przeraża jednocześnie 😲

[@MultiElektryk]

Film jest oszukany, bo galaktyka drogi mlecznej jest pokazana jako mikroskopijna a ma 120 mld słońc plus masa planet a tą dziure opisują jako o masie 30 mld słońc.

[@clairecadoux471]

Brilliant animation😊

[@charlie2105]

Chills. Bravo!

[@bronislavklofac5313]

Mind-blowing

[@Imrankhan-dj3cl]

Incredible 😮

[@vindicator05]

Several times in this video alone I found my coping strategy for a certain wtf only to meet rhe next even bigger wtf just seconds later.

[@ChromeXk]

Genuinely surprised how small a lot of these are like Sagittarius A and some like Cygnus are a lot bigger than I realised.

[@space_academy]

Great video NASA! We had to gasp for each one that appeared after Cygnus A!

[@mfgassets5195]

Truly amazing!

[@Rmm1722]

awesome mind-blowing 🤯🤯🤯🤯

[@CarlosGarcia-nx6wp]

Simplesmente fantástico!!!!!!😮😮😮😮😮

[@markuse9018]

How is this possible, totally amazing

[@Firu42]

you just need to eat a lot

[@antonioturner3835]

Singularity

[@vonpalyka]

Amazing and terrifying!

[@fentonpainter7907]

Mind blown 🤯

[@elisedoyle7781]

Incredible 👌🌹

[@Mr_Battlefield]

Wow, my mind is blown. 😮

[@chDavid1]

Where is "Phoenix A"? :D (Nice comparisation btw :) )

[@shweta1322]

It is only a theory that it is larger not real

[@tomato8933]

We don't know its actual size, so it's not included

[@hardiklakhepuriya]

giving me chills

[@tinkletimegaming8488]

Mesmerizing

[@johnbravo2301]

Mind blown overwhelmed and scary.

[@nelsondanielmonroylopez851]

fantastic and terrifying

[@bos_guy101]

AMAZING!!!!!

[@juanrodriguez2201]

Absolutamente formidable! Que barbaridad!!!

[@smbhquasar1527]

Really epic!

[@adonistopofmen2571]

Great images ...

[@lj626-dx1eq]

Thanks @NASAGODDARD this vid was really well put together. Music is abzolutely epic also. Brilliance makes Brilliance

[@alicepisjak7789]

what is this music, please?

[@ReginaAntiola-ug6wm]

I WILL PUT 1 DECILLION SUN(2 UNVIGINTILLION GRAMS)

[@hamitelik7377]

Amazing 😱

[@illusion-zl8kw]

NASA just gets better and better. Amazing.

[@ayoutuber6315]

That’s really cool

[@stantrew7715]

Infinity...This is all well beyond human comprehension.

[@danielg5730]

Impressionante ❤❤

[@user-yq6wk5js2o]

Не могу никак найти эту прекрасную музыку, звучащая в ролике)))

[@crazygino77]

Epic

[@DaK1ller]

Now Phoenix A is much larger than TON618

[@leotimtom6637]

That`s heavy! 618 tons!

[@Pseudo___]

Ok but should add in distance to nearest star

[@pittiebaby]

This is awsome yet ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING 😱😱

[@drakemallard1486]

There are so many good comments for "That's what she said." I can't even.

[@laurence5667]

Magie de l'espace

[@kagannasuhbeyoglu]

It's very impressive...

[@tellesalves3751]

Colossal! 😱💥

[@creativespace8637]

Expansion of space is still scarier

[@vedchaudhary1180]

I like how nasa uses Gargantua Interstellar image in place of cygnus A

[@MarkDelaney67]

Thankyou

[@blackandblue85]

This music is amazing

[@KingBritish]

Insane.

[@sodishshrestha2053]

66 billion suns?? That's super freaky!!

[@shweta1322]

And 11 solar systems wide.....

[@The44kGaming]

Amazing video. Subtitles too fast tho.

[@EYT]

This would be a great "yo' Mama" joke

[@mareksdunkurs3991]

Space is wonderful, because we still have questions, where space ends, what is out there, is it unlimited etc. we should invest more and more, we need to take risks and move from planet to planet.

[@michaelyoung8864]

Defining, not to say daunting …

[@jijnasadey]

How interesting!!

[@Goth7illa]

Things that make you go ‘AAAH!’😱

[@EGlobalTrading]

You forgot about Phoenix A, it's about twenty times bigger than TON.

[@ishitatiwari6056]

100 billion solar masses compared to 66 billion solar masses isn't 20 times lol. Plus those figures are outdated since it was only a theory that it could be that large but it actually is a lot smaller.

[@tomato8933]

It's only 2.5 times bigger (if our math is correct)

[@harshbayad7]

​@@tomato8933 Mass of phoenix A has not been accurately measured, it's just theory

[@spaceexplorer2Mofficial]

For those who are saying where is Phoenix A, this video is uploaded before Phoenix A was discovered

[@HN-ri4by]

No phoenix A* was discovered in 2011. It was only speculated to be 100 billion solar masses but now that's debunked

[@tomato8933]

It wasn't

[@dundunsar]

many things are insignificant

[@rhendellinkern7121]

Wow 😳😲

[@suyapajimenez516]

Scary 😳

[@albertogmail8017]

Asusta tanta enormidad. Gran video

[@wwutama]

Awful lot of things out there that we still do not know😐

[@kad161]

nice

[@henriOnimura30]

Somos extremamente insignificantes perante as coisas gigantescas existentes no universo, está fora do nosso alcance.

[@sam_mugnier]

but enough to our imagination

[@PicsReviews]

Thank god these black holes are not greedy as we humans 😅

[@Jackspiring]

I feel like i’ve seen this before Kurzgesagt

[@text_obj]

where is Phoenix A

[@harshbayad7]

Mass of phoenix A has not been accurately measured, it's just theory

[@juanjong7888]

Ton 618 , el gran glotón!!

[@MuhammadKurniawan101]

ما شاء الله، بسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ، وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْحُبُكِ، وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ, سبحان الله و بحمده و الله أكبر

[@ahrorobidov4519]

ImoThe scale is not calculeted properly though graphics briliant

[@maaj_chouri]

Woooohhh, This is something seriously terrifying! Still we're alone! 👀

[@rehabcityman]

No, you are not 👽

[@nem3th]

Maybe because we are like microbs or dust for them , they are not even interested to waste.

[@shukry-qg4vk]

So true about man in black movie how small our universe as kid me think nah just movie 😅

[@jimmythepotato7501]

theres a new biggest one, i think its called Pheonix A

[@mk_rexx]

This is like cosmic horror

[@__gywls]

우주는 보면 볼수록 소름 돋는듯..무서워요..

[@anonymousrebel6614]

Get ready to be blipped!

[@j0rg3o72O1o]

He notado que los mas chiquitos son azules,y a medida de que avanzan y se muestran los mas grandes cambian de color con una tonalidad de naranja o rojo con azul,y los mas grandotes son naranjas,por que es eso?

[@1mt07jack5]

Thanks guys hope you win and find a solution to this sick economic system good luck to you!

[@randomguy29727]

i didn't expect "Sagitarius A" was that small.

[@terraneko8999]

small but still very chonky aka 4.154±0.014 million solar masses

[@sasha_thewhite]

True heart of darkness exists…

[@g-man2507]

Great but where is Phoenix A?

[@sseng9787]

In theory

[@user-uv9mp9vb6w]

소름...

[@dgvs3718]

Tópe esses achismo tchê!

[@pferderber]

Hmmm, kinda thought it would be bigger

[@kiranrathor9817]

Phoenix A Is even larger than Ton 618. 66 billions solar mass 😮. That's ultra massive BH

[@terraneko8999]

in theory it is, we only simulated it so far, no measurements yet

[@shweta1322]

Bro it is only a theory you can't say it rnand ton 618 is an ultramassive bh with 66 billion solar masses

[@akilghosh]

Wow Andromeda's is so much more larger than milky way's 😲