For the first time, astronomers have detected and measured the mass of an isolated black hole. When giant stars reach the end of their lives, they explode in a supernova and their cores become black holes. Stellar-mass black holes (which are much smaller than supermassive black holes) have previously only been found when coupled with neutron stars or other partners. However, the Hubble Space Telescope helped researchers locate an isolated stellar-mass black hole. The key was something called gravitational lensing. A combination of ground-based survey data and Hubble observations discovered an effect that likely came from an isolated black hole.
Key Takeaways:
- Isolated black holes are incredibly hard to find due to their absorption of light and absence of a partner.
- An isolated black hole over five thousand light-years away from Earth has been detected with the aid of the Hubble Space Telescope.
- Gravitational lensing is a phenomenon that results in the bending of light and allows for the detection of isolated black holes.
“Until now, all stellar-mass black holes detected to date have existed in binary systems with partners such as neutron stars.”
Read more: https://www.space.com/rogue-black-hole-isolated-discovery
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