Map of the Universe

Gaia BH3

Black hole · Binary system in Aquila

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Gaia BH3
Picture: ESO/L. Calçada, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

About Gaia BH3

Gaia BH3 is about 1,924 light-years from the Sun, so the light we see from it left about 1,924 years ago.

It is 25,850 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 most massive stellar black hole known in the Galaxy: 32.7 solar masses (2024).

Key numbers

Distance1,924 light-years (590 pc)
Distance from the Galactic centre25,850 light-years
Galactic coordinatesl = 51.70°, b = -3.50°

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 BH3 is a binary system consisting of a metal-poor giant star with spectral type G and a stellar-mass black hole. Gaia BH3 is located 1926 light years away in the constellation of Aquila. Gaia BH3 is the first black hole discovered from preliminary Gaia DR4 astrometric data.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Gaia BH3, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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