Core Insights - Astronomers have discovered the largest known black hole, located in the galaxy SDSS J1148+1930, approximately 5 billion light-years from Earth, with a mass about 36.3 billion times that of the Sun [1][3] - This discovery sets a new record for black hole mass observation and provides significant insights into the formation and evolution of the universe [1] Discovery Details - The black hole is situated at the center of the "cosmic horseshoe" gravitational lens structure, where the gravitational field of a massive galaxy bends and amplifies the light from more distant celestial bodies [3] - Researchers utilized both the degree of light bending and stellar kinematics to analyze the trajectories and velocities of stars at the galaxy's center, ensuring the reliability of the black hole's mass measurement [3] Classification and Implications - The discovered black hole is classified as "supermassive," surpassing the traditional category and nearing the theoretical maximum mass limit for black holes [3] - Scientists estimate that the maximum mass for black holes in the universe is around 50 billion times that of the Sun, indicating that the black hole in SDSS J1148+1930 is very close to this upper limit [3] - The galaxy SDSS J1148+1930 is described as a "fossil galaxy," formed from the merger of original galaxy clusters, each containing supermassive black holes, which ultimately merged to create this massive entity [3] - This finding provides crucial evidence for understanding how black holes grow through galaxy mergers and approach their maximum mass [3]