Chinese Scientists Locate a Monster Black Hole

On Thursday, scientists revealed the existence of a black hole in the Milky Way galaxy, which is around 70 times bigger than the sun of our solar system. Scientists from the National Astronomical Observatory of China (NAOC) named the giant black hole as LB-1. The massive black hole located around 15,000 light-years away from the solar system. The discovery of a black hole having such mass would challenge the current models of the origin of the stars. 

Our galaxy, Milky Way, is carrying 100000000 black holes. Researchers revealed that scientists did not seem aware of the existence of a black hole of such a huge mass. Previously, scientists claimed that the maximum weight of a black hole would be around 20 times that of the sun. However, the recent discovery of LB-1 toppled the previous assumption. 

More about LB-1

Professor Liu Jifeng revealed that a black hole carrying such a huge mass should not be in our galaxy. The current model of stellar evolution states against such development, he added. According to one of the current models, stars radiate most of their gases before collapsing. Therefore, a black hole can’t carry much mass. The newly discovered LB-1 is twice as big as what scientists predicted initially. As a result, now it’s up to theorists to explain the formation of such a black hole, Liu Jifeng added. 

Previously, scientists were able to know about the existence of a black hole when it eats nearby stars and giant celestial bodies. But currently, scientists are detecting the X-ray radiation created during such a process; as a result, they can locate several black holes in recent history. Professor Liu Jifeng and his team used the LAMOST – Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope to identify the black hole. The recent discovery will create another milestone in astrophysics, experts added.