Astronomical discovery: An international scientific team has for the first time directly observed a small black hole in a binary system. This discovery is being considered an important achievement in astronomy. This discovery involved 32 scientists from 10 countries, including Shubham Kishore and Alok C. Gupta of India's Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences. The study has been published in 'Astrophysical Journal Letters'.

Scientists found the first small black hole

The study focused on the galaxy OJ 287, located about 4 billion light-years from Earth. Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers monitored the brightness of the primary black hole and the jet associated with it.

On November 12, 2021, TESS observed a sudden burst of brightness that lasted for 12 hours. This event was in accordance with a prediction made in 2014 by University of Turku researcher Pauli Pihjoki, providing the first direct evidence of the existence of a small black hole.

The view of a black hole was seen for the first time

The DST said, "When the smaller black hole swallows up a large portion of the drifted disk around its larger counterpart, a bright outer jet is created."

Professor Mauri Valtonen and his team at the University of Turku have shown that this burst of light originated from the small black hole and its surroundings. During this event, the normally reddish OJ 287 appeared more yellow, indicating the visibility of the small black hole.

This discovery will prove to be a milestone for the future

The discovery was confirmed by NASA's Swift telescope and a network of ground-based telescopes operated by an international collaboration led by the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

The DST said, "This observation is an important milestone in black hole research, similar to TESS's exoplanet discoveries. Although direct imaging of black holes is challenging due to their immense distances, scientists hope that smaller black holes may soon be detected via gravitational waves."

This event will answer the question of the formation of the universe

This breakthrough not only confirms existing theories about binary black hole systems, but also opens up new avenues for understanding these cosmic phenomena. As observational techniques advance, astronomers hope to learn even more about the nature of black holes and their role in shaping galaxies.