They have found a black hole 8,200 times larger than the Sun and scientists consider it the ‘missing link’.
A recent study has identified fast-moving stars in the Omega Centauri star cluster, providing strong evidence for the existence of a central black hole. This black hole, with a mass of at least 8,200 times larger than the Sunis the best candidate for an intermediate-mass black hole, which astronomers have long suspected formed early in galactic evolution. Located 18,000 light-years away, it is the closest massive black hole to Earth.
This discovery supports the hypothesis that Omega Centauri is remnant of the galactic core which was swallowed by the Milky Way billions of years ago. This galactic core, devoid of outer stars, has remained almost unchanged since then. The results are published in the journal Nature.
Omega Centauri, visible as a bright spot in the night sky from the southern hemisphere, it contains about 10 million stars. In a small telescope, it looks like other globular clusters: a spherical cluster of stars so dense toward the center that individual stars are indistinguishable.
A study led by Maximilian Heberle of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy confirms that Omega Centauri contains a central black hole. This black hole appears to be a “missing link” between stellar and supermassive black holes, stuck in an intermediate stage of evolution. Omega Centauri appears to be the core of a small galaxy whose evolution was interrupted when it was absorbed into the Milky Way.
Heberle, a graduate student, led the creation of a comprehensive catalog of stellar motions in Omega Centauri, measuring the velocities of 1.4 million stars by analyzing more than 500 Hubble images. Fast-moving stars indicate a concentrated central mass. The presence of seven stars with different speeds and directions led Heberle and his team to conclude that there is a central mass. not less than 8200 solar masses in Omega Centauri. The images show no visible objects at the supposed location of this central mass, suggesting the presence of a black hole.
Detailed analysis not only made it possible to accurately determine the velocities of high-velocity stars, but also find the central region of Omega Centauri, diameter of approximately three light months. Moreover, the study provided statistical confirmation: the presence of seven high-speed stars cannot be a coincidence and clearly indicates the existence of a black hole.
“Previous studies have raised critical questions about the locations of high-velocity stars. Now we have an answer and confirmation of the existence of an intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri. It is about 18,000 light years away. the closest known example of a massive black hole“,” says Maximilian Neumayer, co-author of the study.
The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way is located approximately At a distance of 27,000 light years. This discovery not only settles the debate about the existence of an intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri, but is also the best candidate to date for detecting this type of black hole in general. The long-term goal is to study how the orbits of stars accelerate and warp. However, observing a full orbit, such as at the center of the Milky Way, is a project for future generations, since the orbital periods of the Omega Centauri black hole are more than a century old.