Gaia BH3 dwarfs the previous record holder, Cygnus X-1, which weighs just 21 solar masses.
The findings aredetailedin a paper released today in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Gaia BH3 is in the constellation Aquila, roughly 2,000 light-years from Earth.
Depiction of the binary system, in which a star orbits the unusually large stellar black hole.Image: ESO
Gaias ongoing mission is to construct the most detailed three-dimensional map of our galaxy.
I could not believe it, Panuzzo told Gizmodo.
Now, I feel Ive really done the discovery of my life!
BH3 is now the heaviest of the three largest known black holes in the Milky Way.Image: ESO
Panuzzo said its quite probable that even larger stellar black holes exist in our galaxy.
Previously, theLIGO-Virgo-KAGRA gravitational telescopesdetected the merging of black holes of more than 80 solar masses in distant galaxies.
There are two reasons, he said.
Due to the significance of the discovery, however, the team opted to publish the findings early.
Whats more, by disclosing it now, the scientific community can perform follow-up observations earlier, he added.
More:Ripples in Spacetime Reveal Mystery Object Colliding With a Stars Corpse.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
