A recent study found that the first black hole ever discovered is much larger than scientists originally thought.
Black holes are large space objects where the pressure is so powerful that not even light escapes. The black hole, Cygnus X-1, was discovered in 1964. It is famous for its friendly purpose bet between two famous scientists.
The researchers found that new observations on Cygnus X-1 showed that it is 21 times the mass of our sun. That’s about 50 percent more than scientists believed.
Although it remains one of the closest black holes, scientists have discovered that it is further away than earlier estimates suggested. It is 7,200 light years away. A light year is the speed at which light travels in one year.
Some black holes, like the one in the middle of the Galaxy Milky Way, are quite large. These are called “supermassive” black holes. They can be a million times larger than the sun. Smaller black holes are called stellar-mass black holes. They have a mass of one star.
Cygnus X-1 is the most recognizable black hole at Milky Way. It is among the strongest X-ray stores seen from Earth, said James Miller-Jones of Curtin University and the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research in Australia. Miller-Jones led the study that appeared in the publication Science.
Cygnus X-1 turns so fast that it approaches the maximum predicted under Albert Einstein’s physics theory of general relativity, Miller-Jones added.
The black hole contains material that comes from the surface of the star it directs. This star is a “supergiant blue,” a very large star about 40 times the size of our solar system.
Cygnus X-1 originated 4 million to 5 million years ago as a star up to 75 times larger than the sun. But then it fell into a black hole a few tens of thousands of years ago.
The research included data from the True Baseline Array radio telescope. It is made up of 10 observation stations in the United States.
After Cygnus X-1 was first identified as a potential black hole, a friendly bet was made between two physicists, Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne. Hawking bets against the thing being a black hole, while Thorne bets it was a man. Hawking eventually admitted that the Cygnus X-1 was a black hole.
Miller-Jones, director of the study recently, said, “Of course, I had no wagers riding on those decisions. “
My name is Iain Russell.
Will Dunham reported this story for Reuters. John Russell made it suitable for learning English. It was Mario Ritter, Jr. the editor. _______________________________________________________________
Words in this story
bet – n. an agreement in which people try to guess what will happen and the person who manages wrong has to give something (such as money) to the person who manages wrong; bet
store – n. the place from which something begins
bet – n. an agreement in which people try to guess what will happen and the person who manages wrong has to give something (such as money) to the person who manages wrong; bet