The black hole was first detected in a star cluster

Astronomers have discovered a black hole for the first time in a very young galaxy outside our galaxy, thanks to a method that confirms new discoveries in these difficult objects, a study reveals, Thursday, November 11th.

“There are many black holes in the universe, but we do not know them because we cannot see them.”Sarah Saracino, an astronomer at the Astronomical Research Institute at the University of Liverpool in the UK, explained. The black color they are supposed to give only reflects the fact that these stars are invisible by definition. Their gravitational force is so powerful that even light cannot escape from them.

They can be detected indirectly by the radiation emitted at their boundary when they absorb matter or by gravitational waves caused by the fusion of two black holes. And not directly, but when disrupting the orbit of a star near the black hole.

A “small” black hole with eleven solar masses

Thanks to this last technique, the team led by Mr.^Me About 160,000 light-years away, Saracino discovered a black hole with about eleven suns in the NGC 1850 constellation of the Milky Way galaxy near the Milky Way galaxy. This “small” black hole slightly distorts its nearest star, weighing about five solar masses. “This is the first time someone with this technique has been found in a very young cluster.”, Outside our Milky Way, says the scientist, whose study appears Monthly Announcements of the Royal Astronomical Society.

To find it, scientists used the wide-field spectrum MUSE, which was installed a few years ago on the European Southern Laboratory (ESO)’s largest telescope in Chile. Allowed“Consider the most populous area”According to Sebastian Kamman, co-author of the study, quoted in the ESO press release: “With information about thousands of stars at once, ten times more than other instruments.”.

Because the oldest cluster less than 100 million years old is a property of young people “We see very different black holes out there, most recently created.”, Explains Sarah Saracino. Thus they have no time to be expelled. “Like the oldest star clusters”, Or do not communicate with each other in particular.

The truth is that he is still young “Lightweight” It is especially of interest to scientists who want to classify full-scale black holes. Their existence remains controversial, ranging from the “star” masses identified by Sarah Saracino’s team to the supermassives that reach millions of solar masses, including “intermediaries”.