Our Favorite Black Holes

While black holes had been predicted decades earlier, the first strong candidate, Cygnus X-1, was detected in 1965 as one of the first X-ray sources observed outside the solar system. Today, overwhelming evidence shows that it’s a genuine black hole. https://go.nasa.gov/3horcUP pic.twitter.com/hcCCR3EydA

#OTD in 2015, @LIGO detected wiggles in space-time from a pair of merging black holes. This event, called GW150914, created a new black hole and ushered in the first direct detection of gravitational waves, a new type of signal astronomers can study. https://go.nasa.gov/2RoFGcX pic.twitter.com/AIlCtWcOUp

Most known black holes come in two main sizes: star-sized and super-sized. The closest supermassive one lies at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, about 26,000 light-years away. Called Sagittarius A*, it weighs in at about 4 million Suns. https://go.nasa.gov/35FR1O6 pic.twitter.com/oc9tlUvThx

Our NICER telescope on @Space_Station observed black hole J1820 as it consumed material from its companion star. Waves of X-ray light created echoes that revealed changes in the size and shape of structures around the black hole. https://go.nasa.gov/2FF8GKT pic.twitter.com/P9tK4jyVER

Most large galaxies have central supermassive black holes, but last year our @chandraxray & WISE observatories found a group of merging galaxies with three monster black holes on a collision course! Such mergers help to grow these giants. https://go.nasa.gov/2ZOmLg5 pic.twitter.com/uLJjoKiGvy

In 2018, @ehtelescope released an image of the shadow of M87’s central black hole. Scientists have been studying this giant elliptical galaxy for a long time, in part due to its legendary jet extending nearly 5,000 light-years from the galaxy’s center. https://go.nasa.gov/35ObLTS pic.twitter.com/uCJyyjJkj3

HR 6819 is the closest black hole we’ve detected so far, and it lies about 1,000 light-years away. Statistics say there should be one as close as 65 light-years, though we may never detect it unless it lights up! https://go.nasa.gov/35TlJ6o pic.twitter.com/FRwCz0Wqtj

Never fear, though, black holes are not a threat to us on Earth. They aren’t giant vacuum cleaners, so even if there is one “just” 65 light-years away, it won’t affect us. For some tips and tricks on black hole safety, grab our handy brochure: https://go.nasa.gov/3hOgAi7 pic.twitter.com/OSIyrPDRX3