#stellarmass — Public Fediverse posts

Second-biggest #blackhole in the #MilkyWay found
As far as black holes go, there are two categories: #supermassive that live at center of #galaxies (and we're unsure about how they got there) and stellar mass ones formed through #supernovae that end lives of massive stars. Although #stellarmass #blackholes are several times the mass of the Sun, they aren't really all that heavy in the grand scheme of things, and the on in our galaxy is close, 2,000 light-years distant.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/04/second-biggest-black-hole-in-the-milky-way-found/

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221104113504.htm

#Gemini #North #telescope on #Hawaii reveals #first #dormant, #stellarmass #blackhole in our #cosmic #backyard.

#Astronomers have discovered the #closest known black hole to #Earth. This is the first unambiguous detection of a dormant stellar-mass black hole in the #MilkyWay. Its close proximity to Earth, a mere #1600 #lightyears away, offers an intriguing target of study to advance our understanding of the evolution of #binary systems