Closest known black hole to Earth spotted by astronomers
INTERNATIONAL GEMINI OBSERVATORY/NOIRLAB/NSF/AURA/J. DA SILVA/SPACEENGINE/M. ZAMANI VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
This illustration provided by NOIRLab depicts the closest black hole to Earth and its Sun-like companion star. The binary system, about 1,600 light years from Earth, was initially identified using the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft. Astronomers followed up with the International Gemini Observatory in Hawaii to confirm their findings.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. >> Astronomers have discovered the closest known black hole to Earth, just 1,600 light-years away.
Scientists reported today that this black hole is 10 times more massive than our sun. And it’s three times closer than the previous record-holder.
It was identified by observing the motion of its companion star, which orbits the black hole at about the same distance as Earth orbits the sun.
The black hole was initially identified using the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft, said Kareem El-Badry of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
El-Badry and his team followed up with the International Gemini Observatory in Hawaii to confirm their findings, which were published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The researchers are uncertain how the system formed in the Milky Way. Named Gaia BH1, it’s located in the constellation Ophiuchus, the serpent-bearer.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
