News: The discovery of Gaia BH3, a massive stellar black hole, has gained significant attention due to its scientific importance, uniqueness, and implications for astrophysics.
About Gaia BH1
- It was detected in June 2022 in Gaia’s third dataset.
- It was found through a star’s rapid motion around an invisible mass.
- Mass: 9 times that of the Sun.
- Distance: 1,560 light-years from Earth (1.4% of the Milky Way’s width).
About Gaia BH2
- It was discovered in August 2022, announced in early 2023.
- Similar in mass (9 solar masses) and detection method to BH1.
About Gaia BH3
- It was discovered in July 2023 by Paris Observatory astrophysicist Pasquale Panuzzo.
- It is the largest stellar-mass black hole in the Milky Way.
- Mass: 33 solar masses, surpassing Cygnus X-1 (previous record-holder) by 12 solar masses.
- Distance: 2,000 light-years away, located in the constellation Aquila.
- Unlike BH1 and BH2, it orbits a yellow giant star every 11.6 years.
Scientific Significance of Gaia BH3
- It is the first outer Milky Way black hole was detected.
- It is a passive black hole, meaning it does not actively consume nearby material or emit X-rays.
- The star orbiting BH3 is very old, suggesting that massive black holes like BH3 formed early in the universe.
- Comparable to black holes detected in gravitational wave experiments by LIGO and VIRGO in 2015, which were located billions of light-years away.
