The closest black hole to Earth has been discovered: it's called Gaia BH1 and is "only" 1300 light years away from us. Its size is 10 times that of our sun.

Gaia BH1 has a peculiarity compared to the black holes that we are used to studying. In fact, if the others, which are located in the center of our galaxies, produce light (not in the black hole but in the matter that swirls around it and is falling into it), Gaia BH1 is a black hole that does not emit light.

How did we manage to find out, then? Thanks to its companion star. In fact, many stars have companion stars and its movement has revealed the existence of this black hole.

But then how many black holes exist in our galaxy like Gaia BH1? Black holes that we can't see but can discover if they have nearby companion stars.

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