Astronomers think there could be as many as 100 million black holes in our galaxy , most with a similar mass to our Sun , but they are not that easygoing to find . With no light source able to escape them , fateful golf hole are normally detected when they are corrode , since their alimentation hysteria emit a hatful of twinkle , or due to the gravitative effect of their companion stars ' orbit , showing singular apparent motion that betoken an super thick target . There has only been one pillowcase of a really set apart calamitous hole with no companion hotshot to give it away being discovered , but some astronomers argued that the object was a neutron star , not a black trap . Now , new evidence confirms the object as a solitary black hole betray just 5,000 light - age from us .
The object is known as OGLE-2011 - BLG-0462 and was first describe in2022 . uranologist used the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) and solid ground observatories to study a star topology located in the focussing of the middle of the Milky Way . The candidate black hole expire in front of the whizz , magnifying its Light Within by garble space - time . This is known as gravitative lensing , specifically microlensing .
The team studied the star for many eld , and with that , they were capable to provide insights into the dim object . The original research in 2022 used asterisk measurement from 2011 to 2017 ; now , the team has used data from 2021 and 2022 on top of astrometric measuring fromGaia .
They have refined the estimate of the shameful hole mass , ruling out the opening of it being a neutron star . It is thought to be 7.15 times the mass of the Sun , give or take 0.83 Sun , and is about 5,000 light - long time away , much near than the supermassive disgraceful hole that lie in at the center of our galaxy .
“ fuse with the deficiency of detected light from the lens at belated HST epochs , the BH nature of the lens is conclusively verified , ” the team write in their newpaper .
The team stresses how the aim is not just travel but speeding through the wandflower . It ’s trip at about 51 klick ( 31 miles ) per second relative to the headliner in the neighborhood . The reason why it is a solitary wanderer might be due to its formation . The supernova explosion that created it must have given it a powerful kick , broadcast it flying through the galaxy .
alone black jam can not be detected using X - beam , visible light , or radio waves , as they emit no light or electromagnetic radiation themselves . However , it ’s potential that this black hole might turn on and emit in X - rays and radio in the future , so it might be see again . It might not even stick alone for long . The upcomingVera C Rubin ObservatoryandNancy Grace Roman Space Telescopeare both expected to detect plenty more microlensing events , and some of them might be other solitary contraband hole .
A paper describing this ratification was published inThe Astrophysical Journal .
