ANU researchers discover fastest-growing black hole ever recordred

[gary]

Story at ABC here :-
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-20/act-fastest-growing-black-hole-recorded-discovered-anu-research/103486262

[Crater101]

Wow, incredible story. Hadn't seen that, intriguing and interesting. Thanks for the link.

[Dennis]

Thanks Gary, I managed to track this down last night from Brisbane.

Here is an image of the Quasar J0529-4351 taken from our back garden in Brisbane on Mon 20th Feb 2024.


Tak Mewlon 210 F11.5
Tak x0.8 Reducer
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro Camera


59 frames x 60 secs exposures.

The Sky X Pro shows this as a Gaia DR3 Star: 4805642240389045632

Pictor
RA (2000.0): 05h 29m 13.8078s
Dec (2000.0): -43° 51' 55.546"

Dennis

[gary]

Thanks Dennis! That was quick! Fabulous!


"The accretion of a solar mass per day by a 17-billion solar mass black hole" :-
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2209.09342.pdf

The discovery paper, "AllBRICQS: the All-sky BRIght, Complete Quasar Survey" :-
https://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso2402/eso2402a.pdf

ESO video :-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z8E4spViHE

[Dennis]

No worries Gary, we had a clear night to start with, so it was a good opportunity to re-acquaint myself with the rig.:)

Having another look at The Sky X Pro, I think the Quasar is located at:

RA (2000.0): 05h 29m 15.8061s
Dec (2000.0): -43° 51' 52.057"

Magnitude: 16.34

Catalog Identifier: 4805630493655815040

Dennis

[gary]

Thanks Dennis!

That DR3 identifier is correct.

The discovery paper cites :-
J0529-4351 as Gaia DR3 SOURCE_ID 4805630493655815040

RA 82.3159 Dec -43.8645 J2000
Which indeed is RA 05:29:15.8 Dec -43:51:52

which is the same as you report

[Dennis]

Thanks Gary, I browsed various on-line resources for the RA and DEC before my imaging session but could not find them.:question:

So I cropped part of the ESO image and did a plate solve to locate the constellation and region and from there, matched it up with the sky chart in The Sky X Pro.:)

The ancient astronomers and philosophers could only dream of such tools in the hands of todays’ citizens.:thumbsup:

Dennis

[gary]

Half a dozen of us observed J0529-4351 visually at Coonabarabran on Mon 11 March using a 25" Obsession.

[Dennis]

Excellent news Gary.:thumbsup:

I have since learned that the object designation also contains the J2000 RA and DEC coordinates, so there was no need for me to submit an Astrometry.net search.:)

Cheers

Dennis