Space Discovery - A Black Hole Closer Than You'd Think

//Watching The Stars//

May the fourth might have gone but I normally fill my week with everything stars to get into Jedi spirits. The universe is a tremendously vast space that many will dedicate their lives to understanding and exploring. Keeping a watch as to what happens around the galaxy is way to discover new phenomena. Observations offer clues for scientists to piece together as theories either become reinforced or disproved altogether, it’s a fascinating gateway to the unknown. I’ve enjoyed reading through the constant discoveries over the recent years. Growing up and taking an interest in astronomy gave me an appreciation for all the work involved in understanding what is beyond our own skyline. It also gave me goose bumps when thinking about wandering asteroids or black holes.

//Force of Darkness//

Black holes are scary, to me at least. They suck in everything with immense gravity pull and they are ‘black’ as light is no exception to this tremendous force. Seeking out these all-consuming spaces is a difficult task, they cannot be seen but X-ray detection utilises frequency detection to discover the stealthy spaces of darkness. There are various types of black holes, the destructive nature is a result of stellar death where a star concludes its lifespan. Other classifications include miniature, intermediate and supermassive that have their own characteristics when detected. Scientists discovered a black hole not far away from our own planet and finding it came about in a peculiar way. Star observation is common and researches became curious when observing a star system orbiting a seemingly invisible space, one might say it’s an example of being hidden in plain sight. It’s the first time a black hole has been found so close to ‘home’ and even visible by eye.

//Key to Discovery//

Visibility and discovery, with or without assistance are means to discovering more unknowns in the universe around us. HR 6819 is the name of this star system and scientists would not have discovered this through X-ray detection as none were found at this particular black hole. This is yet another fascinating discovering to me as it once again shows that the universe has much to teach us. Science evolves with lessons learned and new theories and methods will come about to discover more in the universe. As researchers gain access to new tools and techniques to discover greater and further, who knows what secrets will unravel themselves in the future.

Sources
https://www.businessinsider.com/closest-black-hole-to-earth-discovered-millions-more-hidden-2020-5
https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/black-holes