Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Evidence for a black hole from high rotation velocities in a sub-parsec region of NGC4258

Nature volume 373, pages 127–129 (1995)Cite this article

Abstract

MANY galaxies are thought to contain massive black holes— exceeding ten million solar masses—at their centres1,2, but firm observational evidence has proved to be surprisingly elusive. The best evidence comes from observing gas or stars rotating rapidly within a small region around a central body. If the observed velocities are due solely to the gravitational force of the central body—as in the Solar System-then the mass of the central body can be readily calculated. Here we present observations of rotating gas near the centre of the galaxy NGC4258 (Ml06), which indicate the presence of a mass of 3.6 x 1077solar masses in a region less than 0.13 pc in radius. The volume-averaged mass density in this region exceeds by a factor of at least 40 that for any other black-hole candidate observed previously. These observations provide compelling evidence that a massive black hole exists at the centre of NGC4258.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Rees, M. J. A. Rev. Astr. Astrophys. 22, 471–506 (1989).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Begelman, M. C., Blandford, R. D. & Rees, M. J. Rev. mod. Phys. 56, 255–351 (1984).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Claussen, M. J., Hellingman, G. M. & Lo, K. Y. Nature 310, 298–300 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Claussen, M. J. & Lo, K. Y. Astrophys. J. 308, 592–599 (1986).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Nakai, N., Inoue, M. & Miyoshi, M. Nature 361, 45–47 (1993).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Greenhill, L. J. et al. Astrophys. J. (in the press).

  7. Haschick, A. D., Baan, W. A. & Peng, E. W. Astrophys. J. 437, L35–L38 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Greenhill, L. J., Henkel, C., Becker, R., Wilson, T. L. & Wouterloot, J. G. A. Astr. Astrophys. (in the press).

  9. Watson, W. D. & Wallin, B. K. Astrophys. J. 432, L35–L38 (1994).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Zensus, J. A., Diamond, P. J. & Napier, P. J. VLBI Summer School (Astr. Soc. Pacific, San Francisco, in the press).

  11. Frank, J., King, A. & Raine, D. Accretion Power in Astrophysics 74 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1992).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Ford, H. C. et al. Astrophys. J. 435, L27–L30 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Harmes, R. J. et al. Astrophys. J. 435, L35–L38 (1994).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Kormendy, J. & Richstone, D. Astrophys. J. 393, 559–578 (1992).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Eckart, A., Genzel, R., Hofman, R., Sams, B. J. & Tacconi-Garman, L. E. Astrophys. J. 407, L77–L80 (1993).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Cecil, G., Wilson, A. S. & Tully, R. B. Astrophys. J. 390, 365–377 (1992).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Lonsdale, C. J., Diamond, P. J., Smith, H. E. & Lonsdale, C. J. Nature 370, 117–120 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Haschick, A. D. et al. Astrophys. J. 356, 149–155 (1990).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Turner, J. L. & Ho, P. T. P. Astrophys. J. 421, 122–139 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Henkel, C. et al. Astr. Astrophys. 141, L1–L3 (1984).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Neufeld, D. A., Maloney, P. R. & Conger, S. Astrophys. J. 436, L127–L130 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Cecil, G., Wilson, A. S. & DePree, C. Astrophys. J. (in the press).

  23. Binney, J. A. Rev. Astr. Astrophys. 30, 51–74 (1992).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. Arnaboldi, M. & Galletta, G. Astr. Astrophys. 268, 411–417 (1993).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Courtès, G. et al. Astr. Astrophys. 268, 419–442 (1993).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. Hubble, E. Astrophys. J. 97, 112–118 (1943).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mizusawa Astrogeodynamics Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory, 2-12 Hoshigaoka, Mizusawa Iwate, 023, Japan

    Makoto Miyoshi

  2. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Mail Stop 42, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    James Moran, James Herrnstein & Lincoln Greenhill

  3. Nobeyama Radio Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory, Minamisaku, Minamimaki, Nagano, 384-13, Japan

    Naomasa Nakai & Makoto Inoue

  4. National Radio Astronomy Observatory, PO Box 0, Socorro, New Mexico, 87801, USA

    Philip Diamond

Authors
  1. Makoto Miyoshi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. James Moran
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. James Herrnstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lincoln Greenhill
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Naomasa Nakai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Philip Diamond
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Makoto Inoue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Miyoshi, M., Moran, J., Herrnstein, J. et al. Evidence for a black hole from high rotation velocities in a sub-parsec region of NGC4258. Nature 373, 127–129 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/373127a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/373127a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing