The Tiniest Black Hole In The Milky Way Was Right There All Along
“For generations, astronomers have wondered where all the expected black holes in the Universe are. They’ve wondered just how low in mass they can get, and what types of star systems possess them. With this new information about the red giant star V723 Monocerotis, and its three-solar-mass, non-luminous but light-blocking companion that emits a small amount of X-rays, we’ve likely uncovered the tip of a cosmic iceberg here. Black holes are likely abundant at these low masses in binary systems, and may make up a substantial fraction of systems that had previously been identified as eclipsing binaries.
Sometimes, the biggest discoveries come by taking a closer look at the things you already know about. The Milky Way’s lowest-mass black hole, just three times the mass of our Sun, has just been revealed, and it’s only 1500 light-years away. Perhaps, with similar techniques, we might finally uncover just what kinds of stars lived-and-died in our Milky Way throughout its entire history.”
For many years, astronomers wondered why we hadn’t seen any black holes between 2 and 5 solar masses. Turns out they’re there, after all.
Meet the black hole orbiting the red giant star V723 Monocerotis. It’s only 3 solar masses: the lightest black hole ever found, and it’s only 1500 light-years away.
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