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Astronomers have detected a stealthy black hole because of its effects on a cloud of interstellar gas. This intermediate mass black hole is one of the more than 100 million quiet black holes that should be hiding in our galaxy. These results provide a new method for searching for other hidden black holes and help us understand the growth and evolution of black holes.
Black holes are objects of such gravity that everything, including light, is sucked in and can not escape. Since black holes do not emit light, astronomers must deduce their existence from the effects of gravity on other objects. The mass of black holes varies from about 5 times that of the Sun to supermassive black holes, millions of times greater than that of the Sun. Astronomers believe that small black holes merge and develop gradually, but no one has ever found a black hole of intermediate mass, hundreds or thousands of times the mass of the Sun.
A research team led by Shunya Takekawa at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan noticed HCN-0.009-0.044, a gas cloud moving strangely near the center of the galaxy 25,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Sagittarius. They used ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter / Submillimeter Array) to perform high-resolution observations of the cloud and discovered that it was swirling around an invisible massive object.
Takekawa explains: "Detailed kinematic analyzes revealed that a huge mass, 30,000 times larger than the Sun's, was concentrated in a region much smaller than our solar system." This, along with the lack of any object observed there strongly suggests an intermediate mass black, and by analyzing other abnormal clouds, we hope to expose other quiet black holes. "
Tomoharu Oka, Keio University professor and team leader, adds, "It is significant that this mid-mass black hole was discovered only 20 light-years away from the supermassive black hole of the galactic center. supermassive, a bit like gas is currently falling in. This supports the model of melting black hole growth. "
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Material provided by National Institutes of Natural Sciences. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.
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