--- title: Hubble Telescope Photo Shows Galaxy With Massive Black Hole description: The galaxy may look calm in photos but it's actually home to one of the most massive black holes ever discovered canonical: https://time.com/4228984/hubble-telescope-black-hole/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-18T15:49:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:11:26.108Z article:section: Science og:title: See a Galaxy That's Home to One of the Biggest Black Holes Ever Discovered og:description: The photo was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope og:url: https://time.com/4228984/hubble-telescope-black-hole/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d8b2ee49c048e32/69887e215f570fb0bfb1fb21/hubble-space-telescope-elliptical-galaxy-massive-black-hole.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: hubble-space-telescope-elliptical-galaxy-massive-black-hole og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See a Galaxy That's Home to One of the Biggest Black Holes Ever Discovered twitter:description: The photo was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d8b2ee49c048e32/69887e215f570fb0bfb1fb21/hubble-space-telescope-elliptical-galaxy-massive-black-hole.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See a Galaxy That's Home to One of the Biggest Black Holes Ever Discovered  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Feb 18, 2016 3:49 PM CUT  The elliptical galaxy NGC 4889 in front of hundreds of background galaxies, and deeply embedded within the Coma galaxy cluster. Hidden from human eyes, is a gigantic supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy. The elliptical galaxy NGC 4889 in front of hundreds of background galaxies, and deeply embedded within the Coma galaxy cluster. Hidden from human eyes, is a gigantic supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy.NASA/ESA  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Feb 18, 2016 3:49 PM CUT NGC 4889—a galaxy located more than 300 million light-years away—may look calm in photos [released by NASA this month](https://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1602/ "undefined"). But the galaxy is actually home to one of the most massive black holes ever discovered. The galaxy, the largest and brightest in the accompanying image, is home to a black hole 21 times the mass of the sun. For comparison, our galaxy’s black hole is thought to be just four million times the mass of the Sun. 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