European astronomers find Milky Way's largest stellar-mass black hole

Utkarsh Classes Last Updated 19-04-2024

European astronomers find Milky Way's largest stellar-mass black hole

Space 5 min read

European astronomers have discovered the largest stellar black hole in our galaxy. It is 2,000 light years away from Earth. The mass of this black hole named 'BH-3' is 33 times more than the Sun.

ESA's Gaia Space Observatory discovered 'BH-3':

The weight of many stellar black holes previously found in the galaxy is 10 times the mass of the Sun. For the first time, a massive black hole has been detected.
‘BH-3’ was discovered by the Gaia Space Observatory of the European Space Agency (ESA).
The Gaia Space Telescope was launched in the year 2013.
Scientists came to know of 'BH-3' when they observed flexibility in the rotation of a star in the 'Aquila' constellation. This star revolves around a giant black hole.
Scientists estimate that there may be one billion stellar black holes like 'BH-3' in the galaxy.
However, it is very difficult to find them, because most stellar black holes do not have any stars revolving around them.

Not far from Earth:

Astronomer Dr. Pasquale Panuzzo associated with Gaia Space Observatory said, the surprising thing is that this largest black hole of stellar origin in our galaxy (Milky Way) is not far from the Earth.
This is the second black hole discovered so far, which is the closest to Earth.

‘BH-3’ originated from the destruction of a giant star:

According to scientists, 'BH-3' originated from the destruction of a giant star. Some black holes are formed by the collapse of huge clouds of dust and gas.
‘Sagittarius A*’ is one such black hole, which is present in the center of the galaxy. It is the largest non-stellar black hole, with a mass four million times that of the Sun.
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.

Formation of black hole:

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.
Black holes were first discovered by Karl Schwarzschild and John Wheeler.
In fact, when a giant star reaches its end, it begins to collapse within itself. Gradually it becomes a massive black hole. Then its gravitational power increases so much that every planet that comes within its sphere of influence gets pulled towards it and goes inside. It starts swallowing everything into itself. Its area of influence is called the event horizon.
According to Stephen Hawking, the outer part of the black hole is called the event horizon. According to the discovery of Stephen Hawking, due to Hawking radiation, one day the black hole becomes completely mass-free and disappears.