The New Titan of the Universe: Discovery of a 33x Massive Stellar Black Hole

Astronomers have recently made an incredible discovery of a stellar black hole that is 33 times more massive than the sun, making it the heaviest stellar black hole in the Milky Way. Known as Gaia BH3, this black hole is located in the constellation Aquila and is only about 2,000 light years away from Earth, making it the second closest black hole ever recorded.

This discovery has caught scientists off guard as no one expected to find such a massive black hole so close to Earth. The research team used data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft to detect the star that was being influenced by the black hole’s gravitational pull. Subsequent observations from the Very Large Telescope in Chile confirmed the existence of Gaia BH3 and provided accurate measurements of its mass.

Black holes form when giant stars collapse and can grow by consuming gas, dust, other stars and even other black holes. There are different types of black holes, including stellar black holes, supermassive black holes and medium-mass black holes. Gaia BH3 falls into the category of stellar black holes which are several times to several dozen times heavier than the sun.

Further research is needed to understand how Gaia BH3 was formed and how it interacts with its surroundings. Initial findings suggest that its companion star lacks elements heavier than hydrogen and helium indicating that small black holes can form from stars that do not synthesize heavy elements. Studying Black Holes helps scientists gain a better understanding of the universe’s expansion, formation of stars and planets, and verification of theories about cosmos.