Uploaded December 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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Scientists have discovered what may be the smallest-known black hole in the Milky Way galaxy and the closest to our solar system, an object so curious that they nicknamed it 'the Unicorn.' It is located at 1,500 light years from the Earth, in the constellation Monoceros.
While it may be the closest one to us, it is still far away. For comparison, the closest star to our solar system, Proxima Centauri, is 4 light years away.
‘The Unicorn’ has roughly three times the mass of our sun. It also has a luminous star, called a ‘Red Giant’ orbiting it in a so-called binary star system named ‘V723 Mon’.
The black hole’s strong gravity alters the shape of its companion ‘Red Giant’ star, in a phenomenon known as ‘Tidal distortion’, making it elongated rather than spherical and causing its light to change as it moves along its orbital path.
'The Unicorn' falls into what the researchers called a "Mass Gap" between the largest-known neutron stars at around 2.2 times the mass of our sun and what previously had been considered the smallest black holes at around 5 times the sun's mass.
Tags :-
#scienceofspace #closestblackhole #blackhole
SUBSCRIBE & Press the BELL ICON to get the latest updates
about all the upcoming videos!!
Scientists have discovered what may be the smallest-known black hole in the Milky Way galaxy and the closest to our solar system, an object so curious that they nicknamed it 'the Unicorn.' It is located at 1,500 light years from the Earth, in the constellation Monoceros.
While it may be the closest one to us, it is still far away. For comparison, the closest star to our solar system, Proxima Centauri, is 4 light years away.
‘The Unicorn’ has roughly three times the mass of our sun. It also has a luminous star, called a ‘Red Giant’ orbiting it in a so-called binary star system named ‘V723 Mon’.
The black hole’s strong gravity alters the shape of its companion ‘Red Giant’ star, in a phenomenon known as ‘Tidal distortion’, making it elongated rather than spherical and causing its light to change as it moves along its orbital path.
'The Unicorn' falls into what the researchers called a "Mass Gap" between the largest-known neutron stars at around 2.2 times the mass of our sun and what previously had been considered the smallest black holes at around 5 times the sun's mass.
Tags :-
#scienceofspace #closestblackhole #blackhole
