The object is located only 5000 light years from Earth.
Astronomers have discovered a single black hole for the first time. It is wandering the Milky Way. The object, which does not revolve around a star, moves at a speed of about 51 km/s through space.
Scientists think there could be as many as 100 million black holes in our galaxy. Most of them are about the same size as the Sun, but they’re hard to find. A black hole is usually found when it absorbs something or through the gravitational effect of the orbits of companion stars.
The object, called OGLE-2011-BLG-0462, was first seen in 2022. Astronomers have been studying it for years, and new data confirm that it is a single black hole. This black hole is only 5000 light-years away from Earth. That is much closer than the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. It is believed that the mass of OGLE is 7.15 times that of the Sun.
The object is moving and speeding up as it travels through the galaxy. The black hole is moving at 51 km/s compared to the nearby stars. The reason why OGLE does not have a companion star may be related to how it was formed. Maybe the supernova explosion that created the black hole gave it a big push, forcing it to start its journey across the galaxy.
Single black holes cannot be detected using X-rays, visible light, or radio waves because they do not emit light or electromagnetic radiation themselves. OGLE detected it when it passed in front of the star, making the star’s light brighter by bending space-time. According to IFL Science, there’s a chance this black hole might start emitting X-rays and radio waves again in the future, which would allow us to see it again.
