In a recent breakthrough, astronomers have discovered the largest stellar black hole ever found in the Milky Way galaxy: Gaia BH3. This massive black hole has a mass 33 times that of the Sun and was identified through data collected by the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission. Located 2,000 light years away from Earth in the Aquila constellation, Gaia BH3 was an unexpected discovery as it was found by chance while researchers were studying data from the Gaia mission.
By analyzing the orbits of stars and measuring their invisible companion’s mass, astronomers were able to confirm that Gaia BH3 is indeed a high-mass black hole. This discovery is rare in research, according to Pasquale Panuzzo of the National Centre for Scientific Research. Stellar black holes are formed from the collapse of massive stars at the end of their life cycle and are smaller than supermassive black holes found in distant galaxies.
What sets Gaia BH3 apart is its “dormant” state, meaning it emits no X-rays due to its distance from its companion star. Despite this, Gaia’s telescope was able to identify Gaia BH3 along with two other inactive black holes, Gaia BH1 and Gaia BH2. The discovery of these three dormant black holes showcases how far we have come in our understanding of astronomy and our ability to study even the most elusive objects in space.
The Gaia mission has been operating for over a decade and has delivered a 3D map of over 1.8 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. With each new discovery, we gain a better understanding of our own galaxy and our place within it.
