The location of the first three black holes discovered by ESA’s Gaia mission in the Milky Way. This map of our galaxy was also made by the Gaia mission. Gaia Black Hole 1 is located just 1560 light-years away from us in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus; Gaia BH2 is 3800 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus; Gaia BH3 is in the constellation Aquila, at a distance of 1926 light-years from Earth. In galactic terms, these black holes reside in our cosmic backyard.
To prepare for the release of the next Gaia catalog, Data Release 4 , scientists are checking the motions of billions of stars and carrying out complex tests to see if anything is out of the ordinary. The motions of stars can be affected by companions: light ones, like exoplanets; heavier ones, like stars; or very heavy ones, like black holes. Dedicated teams are in place in the Gaia Collaboration to investigate any ‘odd’ cases.
Most theories predict that, as they age, massive stars shed a sizable part of their material through powerful winds; ultimately, they are partly blown into space when they explode as supernovas. What remains of their core further contracts to become either aor a black hole, depending on its mass. Cores large enough to end up as black holes of 30 times the mass of our Sun are very difficult to explain.
“There is no evidence that this star was contaminated by the material flung out by the supernova explosion of the massive star that became BH3.” This could suggest that the black hole acquired its companion only after its birth, capturing it from another system.The discovery of the Gaia BH3 is only the beginning and much remains to be investigated about its baffling nature.
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