A sensation in space. This black hole lives in a triangle
Black holes have aroused both excitement and fear in us for years. These mysterious cosmic objects are an area that even light cannot leave. In addition, black holes are known for their extraordinary appetite, which forces them to consume their surroundings. But now a system has been found that has never been seen before.
This is the first such arrangement in the history of our space exploration. Researchers found it in the constellation Cygnus. Until now, it was believed to be a binary system consisting of a small black hole and a star. Meanwhile, in the city of Swan, about 7,800 years away, there was hidden something previously unknown to us. It turned out that the black star had not one, but two companions.
Not just a supernova
The star, which was in a wide orbit lasting about 70,000 years, joined a much closer object (6.5-day orbit) of the same type. This new system could show a completely new way in which black stars form. As Kevin Burdge of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology points out, quoted by sciencealert.com, “we believe that most black holes are created by violent explosions of stars, but this discovery helps to question that.” A supernova explosion, which is thought to be a mechanism for the formation of stellar-mass black holes, should break the weak gravitational bonds of the wide orbit. However, this did not happen in this case.
Interestingly, the second star located near the black hole in the constellation Cygnus is not new to researchers. However, only the latest data collected as part of the Gaia mission carried out by the European Space Agency showed that However, the V404 Cygni system and the other star are related to each other, moving in the same direction and at the same speed.
Scientists indicate that black holes could be created without a supernova and its explosion, but only as part of a direct collapse process. In this case, unfortunately, scientists are deprived of a clear trace in the form of a supernova explosion and its consequences. This is why the V404 Cygni chip becomes so interesting. The disruption caused by the supernova should destroy the gravitational connection of the second star to the rest.
Kevin Burdge and his team conducted numerous simulations and found that the best explanation for the current situation is that the three objects were already gravitationally bound when the black hole formed; and the formation mechanism was direct collapse, without additional explosion. As astronomer Kareem El-Badry from Caltech, quoted by sciencealert.com, points out, if such holes are common, they may solve some of the questions that scientists have been looking for a specific answer on this topic for a long time.
