Map of the Universe

Gaia BH1

Black hole · Binary system containing the closest known black hole to Earth

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Gaia BH1
Picture: PanSTARRS & Melina Thévenot, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

About Gaia BH1

Gaia BH1 is about 1,566 light-years from the Sun, so the light we see from it left about 1,566 years ago.

It is 25,635 light-years from the centre of the Milky Way.

The map lists it as a black hole and shows it among the stars around the Sun, drawn on the plane of the Milky Way.

The nearest known black hole: 9.6 solar masses, 1,560 light-years away, found by Gaia in 2022.

Key numbers

Distance1,566 light-years (480 pc)
Distance from the Galactic centre25,635 light-years
Galactic coordinatesl = 22.60°, b = +18.10°

Where it is

Its place in the universe, from the inside out: Milky Way › Local Group › Virgo Supercluster › Laniakea Supercluster › Observable universe.

Zoom out to see it in context: Local Arm, a view about 12,000 light-years across.

From Wikipedia

Gaia BH1 is a binary system consisting of a G-type main-sequence star and a stellar-mass black hole, located about 1,560 light-years (478 pc) away from the Solar System in the constellation of Ophiuchus.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Gaia BH1, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Nearby on the map