Scientists spot black hole 70 times greater than Sun

Scientists spot black hole 70 times greater than Sun

Stellar black holes are usually formed in the aftermath of supernova explosions, a phenomenon that occurs when extremely large stars burn out at the end of their lives.

Astronomers have discovered a black hole in the Milky Way so huge that it challenges existing models of how stars evolve.

LB-1 is 15,000 light years from Earth and has a mass 70 times greater than the Sun, according to the journal Nature.

The Milky Way is estimated to contain 100 million stellar black holes but LB-1 is twice as massive as anything scientists thought possible.

LB-1 was discovered by an international team of scientists using China's sophisticated LAMOST telescope.

Scientists generally believe that there are two types of black holes.

The more common stellar black holes -- up to 20 times more massive than the Sun -- form when the centre of a very big star collapses in on itself.

Supermassive black holes are at least a million times bigger than the Sun and their origins are uncertain.