Black holes are not unusual for modern astronomers. Objects belonging to the group of supermassive black holes are most likely located in the centers of the vast majority or even all large galaxies in Universe. It is also often detected. In fact, the researchers took pictures of two black holes (in the center of the galaxies M87 and the Milky Way).
But the most common are small black holes with a mass of about 5 to 100 times the mass of the Sun. It is estimated that there are at least 100 million such objects in the Milky Way alone. To date, very few of them have been found, because their discovery is very difficult. Especially when no substance is absorbed nearby.
Scientists have discovered the closest black hole to us
Now, scientists using data from the Gemini Observatory have boasted of discovering such an object. It consists of two large parts (8.1 meters) telescopes The first optical observatory (Gemini North) is located in Hawaii and the other (Gemini South) is in the Chilean Andes.
Using the Hawaiian portion of the observatory, the researchers observed a binary system with one component consisting of a Sun-like star and the other being a black hole with a mass of about 10 solar masses. The object called Gaia BH1 is located less than 1,600 light-years from Earth, which is our immediate vicinity.
Thus, Gaia BH1 is the closest system to Earth in which at least one black hole has been confirmed. It is also the closest black hole to us in general and the closest “dormant” black hole ever discovered.
A small “dormant” black hole is very close to us
what does that mean? Scientists, of course, can’t directly observe black holes (they don’t emit any light), but they can look for intense X-rays from the accretion disk as hot matter accumulates (absorbs). in issue “Inert” black holes (that is, those that don’t actually absorb matter) are merely observations of the effect of these objects’ gravity on others.
As scholars have done NOIRLab رسالة messageThe discovery was made possible by very precise observations of the motion of the star accompanying the black hole. It orbits around a common center of mass with the black hole at it Distances About one astronomical unit, which is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Observations of the star’s orbit also allowed the researchers to determine the mass of the black hole.
However, at the moment, it is not entirely clear how Gaia BH1 was created. The most massive star in the system had to pass through the giant phase before turning into a black hole, swallowing or ripping apart a smaller component. However, this did not happen. Further research on the Gaia BH1 pair will allow scientists to better understand the formation of black holes in binaries.
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