First-ever ‘black hole triple’ found 8,000 light-years away, defies supernova concept
This black hole may be the first direct evidence of “gentle” black hole formation.
For the first time, physicists have observed a unique black hole in space that challenges the theory of how black holes are formed.
Many black holes have been detected and appear as part of a pair. These binary systems comprise a black hole and a secondary object — such as a star, a much denser neutron star, or another black hole — that spiral around each other, drawn together by the black hole’s gravity to form a tight orbital pair.
Now, a surprising discovery expands our understanding of black holes, the objects they can host, and how they form.
In a study appearing today in Nature, physicists at MIT and Caltech report that they have observed a “black hole triple” for the first time.
The new system holds a central black hole in the act of consuming a small star spiraling in very close to the black hole every 6.5 days — a configuration similar to most binary systems.
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