"New 3D image reveals potato-shaped M87 galaxy and improved black hole image"
Originally Published 2 years ago — by EarthSky
Scientists have created a 3D map of M87, a giant elliptical galaxy, using the Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. The map shows that the galaxy has a potato shape, or is triaxial. The researchers were able to make a more precise measurement of the central black hole, which has 5.4 billion times the mass of our sun, and gain insight into its spin rate by studying the stellar motion.