An unusual black hole has been discovered in the constellation Ophiuchus.
Astronomers are puzzling over the nature of a mysterious black hole in the constellation Ophiuchus. The fact is that it is very close to a sun-like star, but does not eat the matter surrounding it, as other black holes do.
Scientists have not yet found a clue to this phenomenon, but versions have already appeared that it could be the so-called “wormhole” – a hypothetical “tunnel” in space-time to another part or another universe.
In the “wormhole” space-time is so curved that it allows you to instantly travel to another point in the universe. In our space-time, movement is limited by the speed of light. That is, it will take us years to fly to the nearest stars.
“Wormhole” allows you to move not through the space itself, but as if through it. In another way, it is also called the “wormhole” – in fact, it is a hole in space. The principle of movement in it can be compared with an escalator: standing on the steps you are carried along with them.
Scientists suggest that the entrance to the “wormhole” must have powerful gravity, the same as that of a black hole. Therefore, a “hole” in space-time must be sought among these objects.
However, the nearest black holes are very far from the Earth. And recently, about a thousand light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus, astrophysicists discovered the black hole Gaia BH1.
This is the so-called binary system – next to the sun-like star is a black hole. Moreover, the luminary is located from it at a distance of only one astronomical unit – as from the Earth to the Sun.
In such cases, black holes are engaged in their favorite thing – cosmic cannibalism. They eat the matter of the neighboring star, but not in this case.
Observations have shown that being on the edge of the gravitational funnel, the Star “feels| quite normal. During devouring, the black hole also emits the most powerful X-rays, but it was not possible to detect it.
It was possible to identify a black hole only due to the movement of a star – it seems to wrap around an invisible center of mass. From the behavior of the star, scientists were able to figure out that an invisible object is about 9-10 times more massive than the Sun and is very close to the star.
Astronomers were amazed at the discovery, because with such a close location of the black hole, the star remains unharmed.
