At Stevens, science is a pinnacle of study, research, and interest. One discipline in the scientific realm that is often of the utmost fascination is space. With that, it must have been enthralling for astronomy enthusiasts after a recent announcement from the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). On November 4, astrophysicist Kareem El-Badry and the team that operates and monitors the Gaia spacecraft, which precisely maps the positions of billions of stars, released an article in RAS proclaiming the discovery of the closest black hole to Earth discovered two times nearer than previously found.
A black hole is a section of the universe where gravity is so strong that no light can escape. The prevailing theory is that a significantly large object of mass compressed to a smaller area of space-time creates a black hole. Black holes have a single point where the center of the gravitational waves meet, called the singularity, and an event horizon where light can no longer escape. However, black holes are some of the most mysterious bodies of the cosmos, simply because it is an immense challenge to see and detect them. Scientists only developed the first image of a black hole in 2019. Despite the difficulty in detecting them, black holes remain one of the most important devices to study the nature of the universe: Einstein’s theories of relativity to Hawking Radiation and beyond. Since black holes create situations that test the limits of space-time, gravity, and other astrophysical fundamentals, research and furthering humanity’s understanding of them are of the utmost importance.
Given the importance of black holes, the astrological world became ecstatic when Kareem El-Badry Institute for Theory and Computation in the Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Harvard Society of Fellows Junior Fellow along with his team published an article in the RAS proclaiming the discovery of a black hole only 1,560 light-years from Earth. Before its discovery, the closest known black hole was around 3,200 light-years away. The new black hole, aptly named Gaia BH1 after the craft that aided in its discovery, is approximately 10-times the size of our sun. It orbits a sun-like star but at a safe enough distance to keep the gravity of the black hole from engulfing the star.
While most well-known black holes are dark dots at the center of bright x-ray and other radiation from their local star lunch, most black holes are not like that. Many black holes in the Milky Way are tranquil black holes; they exist simply in harmony with the nature of the universe. However, by tracing minute oscillations in the orbits of the stars near them, scientists can detect them. Although there have been claims of discoveries of these black holes in the past, Gaia BH1 is the first to stand the test of peer review.
The next release of data from Gaia should be in 2025. El-Badry predicts that more tranquil black holes will appear in the data then. He proposes, “We think there are probably a lot that are closer […] Just finding one […] suggests there are a bunch more to be found.” As humanity continues its exploration of the universe, these discoveries are only expected, and astrophysics cannot wait!
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