FirstOfItsKind Black Hole Was Just Discovered Outside The Milky Way

First-Of-Its-Kind Black Hole Was Just Discovered Outside The Milky Way

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Black holes are one of the most impressive things that occur in our universe — and astronomers just made a groundbreaking discovery for one.

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FirstOfItsKind Black Hole Was Just Discovered Outside The Milky Way

Following a lot of hard work and dedication, astronomers have detected an incredible black hole living just beyond the Milky Way. To say that outer space is a fascinating place would be the understatement of the century. From supernovas, auroras, or the billions of stars and planets scattered about the universe, there are seemingly endless things for humankind to discover.

One such entity that’s captivated astronomers for decades is the black hole. In its simplest form, a black hole is an area in space using enormous gravitational power to suck in everything nearby. Black holes can be big or small, are invisible to the human eye, and are so powerful that not even light can escape from them. While nothing about space is dull or boring, black holes are easily among the most fascinating.

Adding to that constantly growing interest, astronomers at the European Space Observatory (ESO) just located a new black hole right outside the Milky Way. It was discovered using the ESO’s Very Large Telescope and depicted above in an artist render. This particular black hole (named NGC 1850) appears quite small and is sitting among a cluster of stars all around it. It’s also about 160,000 light-years away from Earth and resides in the Large Magellanic Cloud — one of the Milky Way’s closest neighbors.

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Why This Black Hole Is Important For Future Discoveries

While scientists have been tracking down black holes for years, this one stands out because of how it was discovered. Astronomers found the black hole by looking at how it’s influencing the motion of nearby stars. As the ESO explains, this is “the first time this detection method has been used to reveal the presence of a black hole outside of our galaxy.” Using the Very Large Telescope, Sara Saracino and other astronomers looked at stars as if they were studying them with a magnifying glass. Rather than looking for a black hole directly, the team was searching for any evidence of a black hole making noticeable effects on the stars. As described by the ESO, “The smoking gun that put the astronomers on the trail of this black hole was its gravitational influence on the five-solar-mass star orbiting it.”

The discovery of NGC 1850 is impressive enough on its own. What astronomers are really excited about, however, is how this paves the way forward for future discoveries. Now that astronomers know it’s possible to use this method for locating black holes beyond the Milky Way, that opens the doors to numerous other potential findings down the road. As astronomer Mark Gieles explains, “Every single detection we make will be important for our future understanding of stellar clusters and the black holes in them.” It’s unclear how many other hidden black holes are out there waiting to be found, but thanks to this latest accomplishment, we’re a huge step closer to finding out.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/black-hole-discovered-outside-milky-way-ngc-1850/

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