By Aahil
Gaia BH1 is a dormant star in the constellations Ophiuchus that is 1,600 light-years away and 10 times as massive as our sun.
It is three times closer to Earth, according to the discovery team, than the previous winner, a black hole in the Monoceros constellation.
In comparison to supermassive black holes that occur in the centers of galaxies, stellar-mass black holes have masses that range from five to one hundred times that of the sun.
The only reason this black hole was detected was because Gaia could see the circling star so precisely, said Gaia team member Tineke Roegiers.
The team's ability to make accurate measurements of the star's orbit using the Gemini North telescope, operated by NOIRLab in Hawaii, was essential.
A binary system is made up of Gaia BH1 and its companion star because black holes like this one are created when massive stars collide.
There may be 100 million stellar-mass black holes in the Milky Way, according to NOIRLab estimations, though relatively few have been confirmed.
Scientists are thrilled with TESS’s exoplanet mission