BH3: Milky Way’s ‘most massive stellar’ black hole is also the second closest to Earth

This discovery has surprised astronomers.

Pasquale Panuzzo, an astronomer at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) at France’s Observatoire de Paris – PSL, expressed surprise at the discovery, calling it a complete surprise. “The most massive stellar-origin black hole in our galaxy and the second-closest black hole ever discovered,” he said.

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When a star with more than eight times the mass of the Sun runs out of fuel, it undergoes a supernova explosion, causing its core to collapse and become a stellar black hole.

The BH3 black hole has a mass 33 times that of the Sun, according to data suggested by the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission and observations by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope.

The BH3 black hole was discovered when the European Space Agency observed a companion star orbiting the black hole. The companion star displayed a noticeable wobble, which was attributed to the black hole’s strong gravitational pull.

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The mass of BH3 is similar to that of black holes discovered via gravitational waves in distant galaxies, making a connection between stellar black holes and previous gravitational wave discoveries in the Milky Way. “We have only seen black holes of this mass with gravitational waves in distant galaxies,” said Dr Pasquale Panuzzo.

“This makes the connection between the stellar black holes we see in our galaxy and those gravitational wave discoveries,” the astronomer said.

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Detecting stellar black holes remains a difficult challenge despite their considerable mass and gravitational influence. This difficulty arises from the absence of companion stars orbiting many black holes. However, the discovery of the BH3 black hole provided valuable insight from the presence of a companion star, indicating that BH3 likely formed long before its companion star.

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Dr. Panuzzo said, “As soon as it appears, people will be rushing to see it… It will tell us about the wind coming from the stars orbiting the black hole, and also about the physics of the black hole. And how the matter falls into it.”

Soon after the discovery of the BH3 black hole, researchers released its details to enable astronomers around the world to begin their research as soon as possible.

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Published: April 17, 2024, 10:38 am IST