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 strong, not even light escapes. The black hole, Cygnus X-1, was discovered in 1964. It is well known for being the object of a friendly bet between two famous scientists.
The researchers found that new observations of Cygnus X-1 showed that it is 21 times larger than the mass of our sun. This is about 50% more massive than scientists thought.
Although it is still one of the closest known black holes, scientists have found that it is further than previous estimates have suggested. It is 7200 light-years away. A light year is the distance light travels in a year.
Some black holes, such as the one in the center of the Milky Way galaxy, are extremely large. These are called “supermassive” black holes. They can be millions of times larger than the sun. Smaller black holes are called “stellar mass” black holes. They have a single star table.
Cygnus X-1 is the largest known black hole in the Milky Way. It is among the strongest radiographs source 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.
The Cygnus X-1 is returning so fast that it is approaching the highest rate predicted by physicist Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, Miller-Jones added.
The black hole brings material that comes from the surface of the star it orbits. This star is a “blue supergiant”, a very large star about 40 times larger than the mass of our sun.
Cygnus X-1 began to exist 4 million to 5 million years ago as a star up to 75 times more massive than the sun. But then it collapsed into a black hole tens of thousands of years ago.
The research included data from the very long base 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 made between two physicists, Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne. Hawking bet against the object like a black hole, while Thorne bet it was one. Hawking finally acknowledged that the evidence suggests that Cygnus X-1 was a black hole.
Miller-Jones, the leader of the recent study, said: “Indeed, we had no bets on these findings.”
I’m John Russell.
Will Dunham reported the story to Reuters. John Russell adapted it for learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. 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 guesses; a bet
source – n. the place where something begins
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 guesses; a bet