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Science & Tech.
Mahesh

02/11/24 12:48 PM IST

First ‘black hole triple’ system discovered

In News
  • A new study says scientists have discovered a “black hole triple” in space for the first time.
  • The system comprises a black hole at its centre, currently in the process of consuming a small star spiralling very close to it. 
Black hole triple system
  • Many black holes discovered until now have been part of binary systems, consisting of a black hole and a secondary object (such as a star or another black hole).
  • But the black hole triple not only has one star which orbits the black hole about every 6.5 days, but also a more far-off star which orbits it every 70,000 years.
  • Situated in the constellation of Cygnus, the system features one of the oldest known black holes, the V404 Cygni, which is nine times as big as the Sun in our solar system.
  • Researchers accidentally discovered the distant star while looking through a repository of astronomical observations taken by telescopes.
About the discovery
  • The discovery of the system, located about 8,000 light years away from Earth (one light year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion kilometre), has raised questions about how black holes are formed.
  • A black hole is a region in space where the pull of gravity is so strong that no matter or light can escape it.
  • Astronomers believe most black holes are formed after massive stars explode at the end of their lives — known as a supernova. However, the triple system suggests a gentler process.
  • The study, ‘The black hole low-mass X-ray binary V404 Cygni is part of a wide triple’, was carried out by researchers at the California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and was published in Nature last month.
Source- Indian Express

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