Using NASA's x-ray telescope Chandra at the core of a spiral galaxy NGC 4178 type SBcd located at 55 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo, found a bright x-ray source, which astronomers believe a black hole with a mass of just VAC 104-105 Solar masses. This is the most low-mass of the supermassive black holes (SMCG)observed in the centers of spiral galaxies.
In the center is visible SMCD weight in 10 000-100 000 solar, and at the periphery - other BH this galaxy, including one intermediate mass.

The galaxy NGC 4178 in the centre is not thicker than in its spiral arms. Those with only a half-dozen, and it is believed that this can occur only in galaxies that have recently become spiral.

Recall that SMCD considered a vital component of the nuclei of spiral galaxies, and they usually weigh at least a few million (or 18 billion, as OJ 287) our sun, so SMCD in the nucleus of NGC 4178 against this background can be called shaped dwarf. Itself NGC 4178 refers to late kablovskom type and does not have the galactic core in the usual form: concentration of stars in the center does not exceed the number in spiral branches.

The authors of the study, which was led by Nathan Secret from George Mason University (USA), is one of the proofs that galaxies without fully formed supermassive black hole in the center just can't form a massive core of the type we see in the milky Way. Mass discovered the black hole has been calculated by simulation of the spectrum of the x-ray source in the area of its accretion disk.

In addition SMCD, in the galaxy NGC 4178 at distances of several thousand parsecs from the centre spotted three more extremely bright x-ray source, usually associated with a BH. Two of them are not so powerful, and therefore are probably black holes normal weight. The same bright - BH so-called intermediate mass, part 6 000 yo 2 000 sun.

It is curious that, despite the low weight, the heroine of this article grows quickly, sucking in a gas and dust. One of the reasons for relatively restrained for such activity luminosity is what emitted by matter accretion disk x-rays immediately absorbed by the thick dust clouds that fills the center of this relatively young galaxy.

The results of the study accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal, and its Preprint available here.

Based on the materials of Space Observatory Chandra.