Abell 2261: A Journey Into the Missing Supermassive Black Hole

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Abell 2261: A Journey Into the Missing Supermassive Black Hole Abell 2261 is one of the strangest galaxies ever found. It is hidden in the constellation Hercules, about 2 point 7 billion light-years away, and its center black hole has just disappeared. Telescopes from Hubble to Chandra have looked into the galaxy's center and found... nothing. Every galaxy this big should have a giant black hole at its core. There are no X-rays, a bright center, or any sign of the engine that should hold a galaxy this big together. It's been a puzzle for scientists for more than ten years: how can a galaxy lose the thing that makes it what it is? We're going to explore Abell 2261 today, which is the case of the lost supermassive black hole.