Using their most conservative assumptions, Dr Bockelmann and colleagues found that even if every globular cluster started out with an intermediate mass black hole, only about 30% retained them through successive mergers.

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When Farrell and his colleagues discovered HLX-1in 2009, it was the first intermediate-mass black hole known.

MSN: Rare Black Hole Survives Galaxy's Destruction

"The fact that there's a very young cluster of stars indicates that the intermediate-mass black hole may have originated as the central black hole in a very low-mass dwarf galaxy, "Sean Farrell, of the Sydney Institute for Astronomy in Australia, said in a statement.

MSN: Rare Black Hole Survives Galaxy's Destruction