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Astronomers have discovered a new record black hole, which is the closest to Earth found to date – and one of the smallest.
Black holes cannot be seen because they do not emit any light, but they can be detected by their corresponding stars and by a powerful and strange gravitational pull. Researchers at Ohio State University spotted this one by noting the distortion in the shape of a red giant star caused by the gravitational pull of its alleged companion black hole. It is only 1,500 light years from Earth.
The possibility of a black hole in this space had previously been overlooked because it is unusually small.
“Just as the moon’s gravity warps the Earth’s oceans, causing the seas to swell towards and away from the moon, producing high tides, the black hole warps the star into a football-like shape with a longer axis. longer than the other, ”concluded Todd Thompson, Ohio State Department of Astronomy and co-author of the study.
“The simplest explanation is that it is a black hole – and in this case, the simplest explanation is the most likely,” he added.
Watch an Ohio State University discovery video above.
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