Found in the Milky Way: “They can become a gang”

It was understood that these black holes, which were formed as a result of the collapse of massive stars and therefore called “stellar origin”, are hidden in a star cluster called Palomar 5.

Researchers believe these black holes will subdue the star cluster in a billion years.

Black holes are famous for swallowing everything around them. However, according to scientists, this cluster does not pose a direct threat to Earth because it is so far away.

The star cluster Palomar 5 is located about 80,000 light-years from Earth. The stars in the cluster are about 30,000 light-years apart.

The research team concluded that Palomar 5 may once have been much denser than it is now, and has been diluted over time due to the black holes in it.

One of the names behind the discovery and astrophysicist Mark Gieles from the University of Barcelona stated that the number of black holes here is three times more than expected.

More than 20 percent of the cluster’s mass is made up of black holes, according to the scientist. Palomar 5 is currently thought to host 124 black holes.

Gieles, the author of the study published in the respected scientific journal Nature, described these black holes as follows:

“Each of them has a mass of about 20 times the mass of the Sun, and when the cluster was still young, they were formed by supernova explosions when massive stars reached the end of their lives.“

Simulations by the research team reveal that in about a billion years, the cluster will begin to dissolve completely. Accordingly, the number of black holes in the cluster will increase before it dissolves.

This means that the cluster could become a gang of black holes in a billion years. Because Palomar 5 can throw all its stars out during this time, leaving only black holes behind.

Therefore, the findings could also shed light on the future of similar clusters in the Milky Way.

In addition, the discovery will enable more precise determination of the age and quantity of black holes in clusters such as Palomar 5.

“There is a big unknown in this scenario: how many black holes are in clusters. It is difficult to quantify with observations because we cannot see black holes,” said astrophysicist Fabio Antonini from Cardiff University.

Our method provides a way to find out how many black holes are in the cluster by looking at the stars thrown out of the cluster.

Source: The Independent

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