A study published on April 16 reveals that astronomers have identified an unprecedented large stellar black hole in the Milky Way Galaxy.
The estimated mass of black hole Gaia BH3 is 33 times that of the Sun. (Image: theguardian.com).
Astronomer Pasquale Panuzzo from the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) at the Paris Observatory (France) stated that the black hole is named Gaia BH3, discovered inadvertently through data collected by the European Space Agency (ESA) during the Gaia mission. Mr. Panuzzo explained that scientists identified BH3 by observing the “wobbling” movement of a star orbiting the black hole. This star is about 75% the mass of the Sun but is brighter than the Sun.
The black hole BH3 is located in the constellation Aquila, approximately 2,000 light-years from Earth. Thanks to the Gaia telescope’s ability to pinpoint the exact locations of stars, astronomers could determine the orbit and estimate the mass of BH3, which is 33 times that of the Sun. Images from the telescope confirm that this is the largest black hole discovered in the Milky Way.
Stellar black holes are formed when massive stars collapse at the end of their life cycles. This black hole is smaller than supermassive black holes, whose origins remain uncertain to scientists. According to Mr. Panuzzo, previously, such massive black holes had only been found in distant galaxies through gravitational waves.
BH3 is identified as an inactive black hole, positioned too far from its companion star to emit X-rays, making detection challenging.
Previously, the Gaia telescope also identified two other inactive black holes in the Milky Way: black holes BH1 and BH2. The Gaia mission has been ongoing for a decade, operating 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. In 2022, this mission provided a 3D map of the positions and movements of over 1.8 billion stars.
