According to a new study observed by the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope, an elusive type of Black Hole was detected in a nearby galaxy for the first time. Thus, something that was predicted only in theory was found, and this phenomenon is difficult to detect. So, check out more information about the sleeping black hole outside the Milky Way.
Read more: Black hole – What they are, appearance, formation and curiosities
What is a black hole?
A black hole is a region of space whose gravitational field is so strong that not even light can escape it. Once formed, the gravitational pull of the black hole region is so strong that all matter attracted to it is compressed until it is torn apart.
However, dormant black holes, which form towards the end of a massive star’s life, are particularly difficult to detect because they don’t interact much with their environment. That’s because, unlike most black holes, dormant ones don’t emit high levels of X-ray radiation.
VFTS 243: The first sleeping black hole
It took six years of observations for the European Southern Observatory (ESO)’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile to discover the unprecedented phenomenon. The black hole, known as VFTS 243, is at least 9 times the mass of the Sun and orbits a hot blue star 25 times the mass of the Sun, making it part of a binary star system.
“Given how common most astronomers think they are, it’s surprising how little we know about dormant black holes,” study co-author Pablo Marchant, an astronomer at the University of Leuven in Belgium, said in a press release.
The hole is far away, but it keeps growing
According to Hugues Sana, also author of the study, the orbit, which lasts for 14 days, is still in balance for now. That way, the living star is far enough away not to be swallowed.
According to researchers, this balance should not last long. This is because as a living star grows, part of its surface is swallowed up by the black hole, which emits X-rays to break out of dormancy, so it will leave its dormant state at some point.
–
