Live Sciencee
By Ben Turner
April 15, 2024
Astronomers have found the most massive stellar-mass black hole ever discovered in our galaxy — and it’s lurking “extremely close” to Earth, according to new research.
The black hole, named Gaia BH3, is 33 times more massive than our sun. Cygnus X-1, the next-biggest stellar black hole known in our galaxy, weighs only 21 solar masses. The newfound black hole is located roughly 2,000 light-years away in the constellation Aquila, making it the second-closest known black hole to Earth.