Black holes remain some of the most puzzling objects in the Universe. Astrophysicists struggle even today to understand their unique features and why they are so: the infinite gravity, where they can lead to, why time simply stops inside such cosmic objects, and so on.
Thanks to recent observations of NASA’s Hubble telescope, astronomers have concluded that there’s a so-called “runaway” black hole somewhere out there in space, one that simply doesn’t like its host galaxy. Therefore, the black hole ejected itself out of that galaxy as a result of a possible collision with other black holes.
One amazing aspect of the runaway black hole is its speed: it would be able to travel from Earth to the Moon in just 14 minutes. Gladly, the beast is way too far away from us to be able to pose any possible threat. But we’re far from done talking when it comes to amazing aspects of the black hole in question!
The black hole leaves behind a 200,000-light-year-long trail of newborn stars
You read that right: the black hole leaves behind countless newborn stars. The trail of such stars is twice as long as the diameter of our own Milky Way galaxy. Luckily, the official Twitter account of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope sheds more light on the mystery, so feel free to watch it below:
Two's company, and three's a crowd… even when it comes to black holes!
Hubble detected evidence of a "runaway" black hole that was ejected from its host galaxy after a tussle between it and two other black holes. Find out more: https://t.co/hEs3i7MUma pic.twitter.com/5qUlaRsVmF
— Hubble (@NASAHubble) April 6, 2023
It’s not a secret in the astronomical community that stars are regularly being born in the Universe while others die. This cycle takes place each and every day in the Cosmos. Therefore, next time you feel too important, you can keep in mind that even the brightest and most powerful stars out there have to face their demise at some point.
In the end, just in case you wanted another reason to believe that black holes are NOT entirely “evil,” there you have it. Who would have thought that such terrifying cosmic objects that absorb even light could ever give birth to new stars?