A recent study found that the first black hole ever discovered is much larger than scientists thought.
Black holes are extremely massive space objects whose gravity is so powerful that not even light escapes. The black hole, Cygnus X-1, was discovered in 1964. It is known to be the object of a friend. bet between two famous scientists.
The researchers found that new observations of Cygnus X-1 showed that it is 21 times our solar mass. This is about 50 percent more massive than scientists had believed.
While it remains one of the closest known black holes, scientists found it to be further away than previous estimates suggest. It is located 7,200 light-years away. A light year is the distance light travels in a year.
Some black holes, like the one in the center of the Milky Way, are extremely large. They are called “supermassive” black holes. They can be millions of times more massive than the sun. The smallest black holes are called “star mass” black holes. They have the mass of a single star.
Cygnus X-1 is the largest star-shaped black hole in the Milky Way. It is among the strongest x-rays sources seen from Earth, said James Miller-Jones of Curtin University and the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research in Australia. Miller-Jones led the study that appeared in the publication Science.
Cygnus X-1 rotates so fast that it is approaching the highest rate predicted according to the theory of general relativity by physicist Albert Einstein, Miller-Jones added.
The black hole provides material that comes from the surface of the orbiting star. This star is a “blue supergiant,” a very large star about 40 times our solar mass.
Cygnus X-1 began to exist 4 to 5 million years ago as a star up to 75 times more massive than the sun. But then it fell into a black hole a few tens of thousands of years ago.
The research included data from the Very Long Baseline Array radio telescope. It consists of 10 observation stations in the United States.
After Cygnus X-1 was first identified as a possible black hole, a friendly bet was placed between two physicists, Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne. Hawking bet that the object was a black hole, while Thorne bet that it was one. Hawking finally admitted that evidence suggested that Cygnus X-1 was a black hole.
Miller-Jones, the leader of the recent study, said, “In fact, I had no bets based on these findings.”
I’m John Russell.
Will Dunham reported this story to Reuters. John Russell adapted it to learn English. Mario Ritter, Jr. he was the editor. _______________________________________________________________
Words in this story
bet – n. an agreement in which people try to guess what will happen and the person who guesses wrong must give something (such as money) to the person who gets it right; a bet
font – n. the place from which something departs
bet – n. an agreement in which people try to guess what will happen and the person who guesses wrong must give something (such as money) to the person who gets it right; a bet