In 1974, scientists discovered a black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is named Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*).

This black hole has a mass of about 4.3 million times the mass of the sun and a diameter of 26 million kilometers. This black hole has very strong gravity and can eat a star.

But who would have thought, Sagittarius A* SHIOWLA is not the only black hole in the center of the Milky Way. Recently, astronomers managed to discover a giant black hole 33 times more massive than the sun.

These findings were published by researchers in April 2024 in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. This black hole, named Gaia BH3, is the most massive black hole ever discovered in the Milky Way.

Gaia BH3 is located about 2,000 light years away in the constellation Aquila and is the second closest black hole to Earth. Quoted from the Space page on Friday (20/09/2024), measurements were made on the companion star BH3.

Astronomers found that there were no signs that the star was contaminated with material that came out of the star's explosion to form a black hole. This indicates that Gaia BH3 formed long before its companion star was trapped in a strong gravitational field.

Although Gaia BH3 is more massive than the black holes of other stars in the Milky Way. BH3 is still similar to some black holes revealed by gravitational waves produced when black holes collide in distant galaxies.

Through further observations from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in the Atacama desert, Chile, it was discovered that the mass of Gaia BH3 and the star's orbit circle the black hole once every 11.6 years.

To see details of Gaia BH3, researchers used the European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft. The next stage of Gaia data will be released at the earliest in late 2025.

However, this discovery prompted the international team to release details of BH3 early so that astronomers could study it immediately.

Gaia BH3
Gaia BH3 only has a mass 33 times the mass of the sun. However, Gaia BH3 is the largest known black hole in the Milky Way that formed from the collapse of a single star.

Gaia BH3 is relatively close, its location is in the direction of the constellation Aquila the Eagle. A striking constellation in the Northern Hemisphere summer sky.

Black holes are notoriously difficult to detect. Gaia BH3 does not emit light, so its existence was only discovered thanks to the European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia mission.