Mystery solved? Runaway black hole chased by tail of stars may be galaxy in disguise

Top panel: Image of a supposed runaway supermassive black hole trailing a chain of infant stars, as observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. The image shows emission in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. Middle: Ultraviolet image of a local galaxy without a bulge and observed edge-on (IC 5249), showing obvious similarities. Bottom: The same galaxy, IC 5249, observed in the visible part of the spectrum. The spatial scales of the three images are identical.

A 200,000-light-year-long chain of stars originally thought to be trailing a runaway black hole may actually be a galaxy in disguise.

Astronomers announced the inferred existence of the rogue black hole, with a mass equivalent to 20 million suns, earlier this year, based on observations by the Hubble Space Telescope. Researchers were astounded by the size of the tail of stars the black hole appears to be dragging along as it speeds away from its home galaxy.