The black hole closest to Earth could be ten times closer than previously known

It appears that a research team has discovered several black holes hiding in the open Haades star cluster, and it’s a surprise.

BARCELONA – Although there is a lot of research on black holes, the celestial bodies remain a mystery. Even finding them is not easy. Since they also absorb light, they are almost invisible. Therefore, researchers usually discover black holes through their effect on surrounding celestial bodies. A research group has now made this discovery closer to Earth than ever before.

Simulations conducted by a research group detect black holes closest to Earth

The closest black hole to Earth so far is Gaia BH1, at a distance of 1,560 light-years from Earth. Using simulations, a research group led by Stefano Torniamenti from the University of Padua was able to identify black holes located in or near the open Hyades star cluster, which is much closer to our home planet. The team published the discovery in the scientific journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

The simulation assumed the presence of up to three black holes at the center of the Hyades star cluster and showed the movements and evolutions of the stars based on this hypothesis. The simulation result was then compared with actual observations made using the Gaia Space Telescope, the portal reported space.com.

Comparison with actual observations confirms the existence of black holes

“Our simulations can only agree with the mass and size of the Hyades if there are some black holes at the center of the cluster today (or until recently),” Torniamente explains the discovery in an article on the University of Barcelona website.

“These results also give us information about how these mysterious objects are distributed throughout the galaxy,” adds Mark Gillis, a member of the Department of Quantum Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Barcelona. Years away from Earth – 10 times closer than the nearest black hole so far, Gaia BH 1.

If a black hole eats a star, it usually only takes a few weeks. However, in one case, it took the black hole 800 days to completely tear apart the star. Meanwhile, researchers from London were able to recreate the black hole environment in the laboratory. (sp)