Black hole
Gaia BH1
Also Gaia DR3 4373465352415301632
A dormant black hole orbited by a Sun-like star, the nearest known black hole to Earth.
Measured
- Distance
- about 1,560 light-years (published estimates 1,540–1,580)
- Constellation
- Ophiuchus
- Position (J2000)
- RA 17h 28m 41s, Dec −0.58°
How far, from the Sun
About 1,560 light-years. To cross it:
- Light1,560 years
- Voyager 1's speed27.7 million years
- Driving at 100 km/h16.8 billion years
Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.
Facts
- It is the nearest known black hole to Earth, as of 2024.
- Kareem El-Badry and colleagues found it in 2022 from the wobble of its star in Gaia data.
How it was found
- It has about 9.3 times the Sun's mass (Nagarajan et al. 2024; the discovery paper gave 9.6); its companion star circles it every 186 days.
Where this comes from
- Gaia DR3 orbital solution, parallax 2.0955 ± 0.0175 mas (Gaia Collaboration 2023, A&A 674, A1)
Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.