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Smithsonian Magazine: Nearest black hole’s position can be seen without a telescope

If you are in the southern hemisphere, as were the ESO (European Southern Observatory) astronomers: The pair of stars in a system called HR 6819 is so close to us that on a clear night in the Southern Hemisphere, a person might be able to spot them without a telescope. What that stargazer wouldn’t see, though, is the black hole hiding right there in the constellation Telescopium. At just 1,000 light-years away, it is the closest black hole to Earth ever discovered, and it could help scientists find the rest of the Milky Way’s missing black holes. Megan Gannon, “Astronomers Discover the Closest Known Black Hole” at Smithsonian Magazine It was discovered by accident: The scientists originally became interested in Read More ›