Scientists find an exotic black hole deemed a 'needle in a haystack'

[Scott]

Scientists find an exotic black hole deemed a 'needle in a haystack'

 

An artist’s impression showing what the binary star system VFTS 243 – containing a black hole and a large luminous star orbiting each other - might look like if we were observing it up close is seen in this undated handout image. The system, which is located in the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy, is composed of a hot, blue star with 25 times the sun’s mass and a black hole, which is at least nine times the mass of the sun. ESO/L. Calcada/Handout via REUTERS

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - Astronomers have spotted in a galaxy adjacent to our Milky Way what they are calling a cosmic "needle in a haystack" - a black hole that not only is classified as dormant but appears to have been born without the explosion of a dying star.

Researchers said on Monday this one differs from all other known black holes in that it is "X-ray quiet" - not emitting powerful X-ray radiation indicative of gobbling up nearby material with its strong gravitational pull - and that it was not born in a stellar blast called a supernova.

Black holes are extraordinarily dense objects with gravity so intense not even light can escape.

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/scientists-find-an-exotic-black-hole-deemed-needle-haystack-2022-07-18/