Overview

• A peer-reviewed MNRAS study reports a 36-billion-solar-mass black hole at the center of LRG 3-757, marking one of the most massive reliably measured to date.
• Researchers combined strong gravitational lensing with stellar-dynamics to extend precise black-hole mass estimates to a distant, dormant system.
• The Cosmic Horseshoe galaxy lies about 5–5.6 billion light-years from Earth and represents a fossil group shaped by repeated galaxy and black-hole mergers.
• The team argues their dual-method measurement offers higher observational certainty than earlier distant candidates such as TON 618, strengthening their record-mass claim.
• Plans are underway to apply this technique to ESA’s Euclid survey, enabling systematic searches for additional hidden ultramassive black holes.