Zooming into the BH3 black hole system

This video zooms into BH3, the most massive stellar black hole discovered so far in our galaxy. The black hole was detected thanks to the wobbling it induces on a companion star, seen here as a bright point at the centre of the frame towards the end of the zoom. An inset at the end of the video shows an artist’s animation of what the orbits of BH (in red) and its companion star (in blue) around their common centre of mass look like.
The various images shown here were taken with different telescopes at different times, and have been blended together to create this zoom. The final animation is an artistic creation.
For more details, check: www.eso.org/public/news/eso2408/
Credit: ESO/L. Calçada, N. Risinger (skysurvey.org), DSS. Music: Martin Stuertzer

[@MartinStuertzer]

Thank you so much for underscoring the animation with my music, the video was broadcast on ZDF television tonight!

[@ESOobservatory]

You're welcome, Martin, we love your music!

[@joaocarlosrodriguesdasilva4238]

The way the star gets faster when it is closer the black hole is truly fascinating.

[@dviswanathan9181]

Is that a gravitational slingshot?

[@QuasarAficionado]

@@dviswanathan9181 Not sure if it'd be called that, it's just Kepler's law of area - orbits have to sweep out an equal "area" per unit of time, so objects will always move faster in their orbits when closer to each other

[@72ndHUMAN]

did a drive by once or twice

[@claudiamunoz6375]

Maravilloso!!! Muchas gracias

[@BlyeetDurek-se5ew]

Truly fascinating!

[@justvloss]

hoshiga kiyito

[@IlMattoMattia]

Great

[@bbbenj]

Really amazing 😮

[@mariachandia7179]

Impresionante!!! 👏

[@UANNATTECH]

Right now I'm using NASA's IXPE data to analyse the Black Hole X-ray Binary 4U 1630-47 and it's involved to many coding, astrophysics or astronomy, properties (like timing, spectrometry, polarization), maths etc ufff hope I will find something which helps science community ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@stilltom_3109]

Is it bigger than Sagittarius A

[@ESOobservatory]

No, BH3 has 33 times the mass of the Sun, whereas Sagittarius A* is 4 million times more massive than the Sun. However, these are two very different kinds of black holes, formed in different ways. BH3 is a stellar black hole -- a black hole formed after the collapse of a massive star at the end of its life. Previously known stellar blackholes in our galaxy were 10, maybe 20 times more massive than the Sun. BH3 is the most massive found yet in this category.

[@hadijomhor4118]

Like Like

[@rjung_ch]

👍💪✌

[@cristicovleaminibyte4160]

hmm? really?

[@Doddo0]

bro really just let that guy toss him around

[@Silverfields1]

Why would they waste peoples time with an artists impression?!