List of nearest known black holes

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This is a list of known black holes that are close to the Solar System.

It is thought that most black holes are solitary, but black holes in binary or larger systems are much easier to detect.[1] Solitary black holes can generally only be detected by measuring their gravitational distortion of the light from more distant objects. As of February 2022, only one isolated black hole has been confirmed, OGLE-2011-BLG-0462, around 5,200 light-years away.[2]

The nearest known black hole is Gaia BH1, which was discovered in September 2022 by a team led by Kareem El-Badry. Gaia BH1 is 1,560 light-years away from Earth in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus.[3]

For comparison, the nearest star to the Sun (Proxima Centauri) is about 4.24 light years away, and the Milky Way galaxy is approximately 100,000 light years in diameter.

  1. ^ "ESO Instrument Finds Closest Black Hole to Earth". European Southern Observatory. May 6, 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sahu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference El-Badry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).