A supermassive black hole inside a distant quasar spins at about 336 million mph (540 million kph), roughly half the speed of light, according to research published in the journal Nature.
Scientists have measured the spin rates of black holes before, but never one so far away. The newly measured black hole is inside a quasar some 6 billion light-years from Earth.
A black hole is a region of space so packed with matter that not even photons of light can escape its gravitational grip. It leaves evidence of its existence as it encounters and swallows cosmic neighbors.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.