Messier 59 (IMAGE) University of Hawaii at Manoa Caption Researchers studied elliptical galaxies like Messier 59 to determine if the mass of their central black holes changed throughout the past 9 billion years. The smooth distribution of light is billions of stars. Credit ESA/Hubble & NASA, P. Cote Usage Restrictions No restrictions. License Public Domain Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.