Scientists have recently discovered the largest stellar black hole in our galaxy, named Gaia BH3, which is estimated to be 33 times the mass of our sun. This black hole, located around 2,000 light years away from Earth, is the second-closest known black hole to our solar system. Stellar black holes form from the remnants of massive stars that collapse under their own gravity after running out of hydrogen fuel. These objects are incredibly dense and have such strong gravitational pulls that even light cannot escape from them. While Gaia BH3 is the largest stellar black hole in our galaxy, it is still much smaller than supermassive black holes found at the centers of galaxies, including Sagittarius A* in the Milky Way.
The discovery of Gaia BH3 was made by analyzing data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission, which detected a wobbling motion in a star located in the constellation of Aquila. Further observations using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) confirmed the existence of the black hole and determined its mass to be 33 times that of the sun. This makes Gaia BH3 a rare find, as most other stellar black holes in our galaxy do not exceed 10 times the mass of the sun. The companion star orbiting Gaia BH3 was found to be very metal-poor, suggesting that the star that died to form the black hole also had low metal content.
More data on Gaia BH3 and its companion star is still being collected and will not be fully released until 2025. The decision to publish a paper based on preliminary data was made due to the unique nature of the discovery and the significance of finding such a high-mass black hole nearby. The detection of Gaia BH3 provides insights into the formation of massive black holes from metal-poor stars and offers valuable information for studying the evolution of stars and galaxies. This discovery highlights the importance of ongoing scientific research and the need to continue exploring the mysteries of the universe, including black holes and other astronomical phenomena.
