Closest black hole to Earth found 'hiding in plain sight'

Closest black hole to Earth found 'hiding in plain sight'



This artist’s impression shows the orbits of the objects in the HR 6819 triple system. The system is made up of an inner star (orbit in blue) and a newly discovered black hole (orbit in red), as well as a third star in a wider orbit (also in blue). (ESO/L. Calçada)

The black hole next door

A black hole merely 1,011 light years from our solar system is the closest ever discovered. Astronomers uncovered its presence while studying the binary star system HR 6819 in the constellation Telescopium. The central star orbits a mysterious object every 40 days or so, and the outer star encircles the central star and the object, which has a mass of 4.2 suns. A regular star of that size would shine brightly — so a black hole is the only option. “It seems like it’s been hiding in plain sight,” says astronomer Kareem El-Badry.

National Geographic | 8 min readReference: Astronomy & Astrophysics paper