Record-Breaking Black Hole Discovered Just 2000 Light-Years From Earth

Astronomers have identified a stellar black hole in the Milky Way with a mass 33 times that of the Sun, located only 2000 light-years away.

Astronomers have identified the most massive stellar black hole yet discovered in the Milky Way galaxy. This black hole was spotted in data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission because it imposes an odd ‘wobbling’ motion on the companion star orbiting it. Data from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) and other ground-based observatories were used to verify the mass of the black hole, putting it at an impressive 33 times that of the Sun.