Different kinds of black hole

A small black hole

Despite packing in more than 4 million times the mass of our Sun, the black hole at the centre of our galaxy is no larger than the Solar System.

The closest black hole

The nearest known black hole candidate is found in the triple star system HR 6819, which is 1,120 light years from Earth.

Most massive black hole

The heaviest of heavyweights is the supermassive black hole found in the quasar TON 618, with a mass 66 billion times greater than our Sun.

Runaway black holes

Galaxies often collide. When they do, their supermassive black holes also merge, which can give the product of the merger a kick, causing it to escape its galaxy.

Miniature black holes

Some theories suggest that the Big Bang created a horde of micro black holes, with masses ranging from 100 millionths of a kilogram up to that of a small asteroid.