Since the discovery of the black hole in our Milky Way galaxy, scientists have been fascinated to see how these black holes are shaping our neighborhood. Black holes are considered some of the spooky objects in our universe because even though we have come a long way in understanding them and their detection methods, we do not know how they work.
Finding a second massive black hole in our galaxy is one of the most significant milestones. Discovered black holes are about 33 times greater than our sun. They are the biggest ones we know in the Milky Way. However, scientists have discovered several black holes far in other galaxies, but finding a black hole in our galaxy opens up new doors for exploration. We already know that a supermassive black hole is lurking at the center of our galaxy. It is consistently evolving and consuming the mass of the nearby stars.
When scientists first discovered the black hole in the centre of our galaxy, they were baffled by the huge force it exerted on the stars around its orbit. The scientists used various methods, such as X-rays and radio waves, to create pictures of the black hole in the centre.
The second discovered black hole is about 2000 light-years from Earth. Compared to the other black holes detected in the universe, this black hole is quite close to Earth. Therefore, future scientific study and observation of its workings will be comparatively easy. The black hole is placed in the constellation Aquila. It also has stars locked in the gravitational pull of the black hole.
Light years is the distance light travels within a period of one year. So, in terms of kilometers, the second black hole is located 9.5 trillion kilometers from the Earth or 5.9 trillion miles from our planet.
The black hole working mechanism is unique in all objects in our universe. The gravitational pull of the small black hole would be huge. Thus, nothing can escape from it.
Even the light passing by the black hole gets sucked into the centre of the black hole and never comes back. Therefore, black holes are difficult to find because the photons are the only ways we detect objects in the universe.
We cannot detect photons with our telescope unless they bounce from objects. Therefore, detecting a black hole in the universe becomes difficult. Scientists have to use different methods to spot the black hole. The European Space Agency’s Gaia mission observatory identified a massive stellar census.
The black hole created a wobbling motion as the stars tugged inside the gravity. After the initial observation, various observatories worldwide pointed their telescopes to confirm the black hole mass.
The type of black hole discovered by the scientists is not very massive. Scientists have found several black holes that were ten times more massive than the current one. The black hole grabs the scientist’s attention because of its peculiar behavior.
The unsafe behavior of the stars orbiting around the black hole has raised several questions. The scientists did not expect it because most black holes create a circular orbit around them. But this one is different.
Besides that, the black hole Gaia BH3 and its companions are moving in the galaxy in the opposite direction. This is unusual because scientists have never seen such behavior in a black hole’s orbit.
Scientists believe Gaia BH3 formed after the death of the star. The star might be 40 times more massive than the sun. The collapse of the single star gave birth to stellar black holes.
As of today, the Gaia BH3 is the most prominent known stellar black hole scientists have discovered. Stellar black holes are massive and primarily found in the centres of supermassive galaxies. They continuously throw out an enormous amount of particles.
A similar black hole was found in the Sagittarius A. It is located in the heart of the Milky Way. As per the estimation, the black hole has four million times the mass of our sun. The distance from the Earth is about 26000 light years.
It starts orbiting the Gaia BH3, composed of hydrogen and helium. Such composition is mainly found in the stars born in the early universe. They have the lowest metallicity compared to the older stars. The stars are estimated to be born 2 billion years after the Big Bang. When Big Bangn the star explodes and becomes a supernova, the material is blasted in all directions in space. And the remnant is the violently dense black hole.
The discovery of new black holes is always big news for the science community because understanding the working structure of a supermassive black hole will help us better understand the universe. There are so many questions that need to be answered. Continued study will take us closer to the hidden secret of the universe.
