Milky Way Shows Signs Of Its Second-Largest Black Hole

Astronomers may have detected the second-largest black hole in the Milky Way, according to a study led by the Keio University. The researchers found enigmatic gas cloud known as CO-0.40-0.22, which is located 200 light years away from the center of the Milky Way. The researchers made their observations with two radio telescopes, the Nobeyama 45-m Telescope in Japan and the ASTE Telescope in Chile.

The researchers carried out a detailed observation of CO-0.40-0.22, where their findings indicate that the cloud has an elliptical shape. The cloud has two components, one comprises of a compact, low density component that has a wide velocity dispersion of 100 km per second and a dense component extending 10 light years with a narrow velocity dispersion, according to the researchers.

"Considering the fact that no compact objects are seen in X-ray or infrared observations...as far as we know, the best candidate for the compact massive object is a black hole," Tomoharu Oka, lead author of the study, said in a news release.

There are about 100 million black holes in the Milky Way, however, only a dozen of them have been found through X-ray observations. A number of wide-velocity-dispersion compact clouds like CO-0.40-0.22 have been observed recently. The researchers believe that some of these clouds may contain potential black holes.

"Investigations of gas motion with radio telescopes may provide a complementary way to search for dark black holes," Oka said.

The findings of this study were published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Related Articles 

'Most Luminous Galaxy' In The Universe Has Extreme Turbulence

Pluto's Ice Volcano Has The 'Wright Stuff'

Enceladus Mystery Terrain Gets Close-Up Observation From Cassini

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).