In June 2022, scientists from Australia found a quasar that shines light that is much brighter than usual. The breathtaking view was produced by the supermassive black hole J1144, which has a mass greater than three billion suns. It is depicted in the image as a bright blue dot. This is not the first time astronomers have encountered such massive objects, but it is unique. In the known universe, there are no black holes with an appetite comparable to J1144. It absorbs a mass equivalent to the Earth’s every second! It consumes so much matter that its event horizon is extraordinarily large-the orbits of every planet in the solar system could fit within it! Scientists have concluded that it is the black hole with the fastest growth rate in the last 9 billion years.
A massive, red-hot accretion disk formed around J1144 is 7,000 times brighter than the Milky Way’s light. It is so bright that any amateur astronomer with a sufficiently powerful telescope can observe it. How dangerous is the black hole and the tens of thousands of other black holes that could exist much closer to us? How many of them surround, or even reside within, our solar system? Are all black holes identical? Not every star in the universe has a solar system and a permanent home. Several of them are currently wandering through space. And what if one of these approximately 20 times more massive stars than the Sun explodes? It will develop into a black hole, but not one that is typical. There is a category of non-stationary black holes. Extreme cosmic explosions or other large-scale space phenomena eject these objects from their locations. Our solar system orbits the center of the Milky Way galaxy at a speed of more than 788,000 kilometers per hour [490,000 miles per hour].
But some rogue black holes have been seen moving at 5 million kilometers per hour [3 million miles per hour]! The Milky Way galaxy contains at least 100 million of these wandering black holes, according to astronomers. Scientists have recently discovered a rogue black hole about 5,000 light-years away, which is the nearest one to our solar system. It resides in the spiral arm of the Milky Way known as Carina-Sagittarius. Typically, black holes are surrounded by stars, but not this one. In addition, the Hubble Space Telescope has directly measured the black hole’s mass, which is approximately seven times that of the sun. The speed of the giant is approximately 160,000 kilometers per hour (100,000 miles per hour). When a massive star explodes in a supernova that is not perfectly symmetrical, this can give the newly formed black hole a “kick” and send it wandering away from its surrounding stars. 5,000 light-years remains a tremendous distance. Scientists have recently discovered a black hole candidate with ten times the mass of the sun. And it’s now believed to be the closest to Earth, approximately 1,500 light-years distant. The black hole known as Gaia BH1 has a companion star with the same mass and age as the Sun. Still, there is more! This star may harbor planets.
Nevertheless, astronomers estimate that the nearest wandering black hole should be approximately 80 light-years away from Earth. Okay, but what if a black hole is hiding within the solar system? No, we will not be sucked in; black holes are not giant vacuums. This is a myth. If the Sun were suddenly replaced by a black hole of the same mass, the orbit of our planet would not change. Simulations indicate that the Earth’s atmosphere would be consumed in seconds by the heat of the monster’s accretion disk, the oceans would evaporate, and molten metal from the Earth’s mantle would rush into space. Then the black hole would rip apart our planet. To be “sucked” into a monster, however, we would have to cross its Schwarzschild radius, or the event horizon radius surrounding a non-rotating black hole. Theoretically, there are also primordial black holes. Typically, black holes are enormous, but this class is minuscule. Immediately following the Big Bang, there were minor density fluctuations throughout the universe. Some regions were slightly heavier or lighter than average. And material in regions with masses greater than average may have collapsed to form miniature black holes. Such black holes would have been around for eons, with masses ranging from a star to an eyelash. Observations indicate that there are typically two possible mass ranges, or “windows,” for primordial black holes. These are less than one lunar mass and a few tens of solar masses. Primordial black holes pose no threat to humanity. In fact, if they exist, they could account for all or a portion of the dark matter that contributes to the cohesion of the universe. After the Big Bang, a doctoral student from the University of Geneva has been researching the formation of primordial black holes.
As a consequence, there may be hundreds of times more black holes in the universe. And since they are less massive than the Moon, their existence could explain all of the dark matter. A black hole with such a low mass would have a diameter of less than one-tenth of a millimeter, or about the width of a human hair. Additionally, it would imply that primordial black holes should exist everywhere, including in our solar system. A theoretical astrophysicist from Harvard University hypothesizes that there is one beyond Pluto that influences the orbits of a variety of small objects. However, there are further black holes. They are referred to as quasars and are among the most destructive objects in the universe. To date, over a million quasars have been discovered. They are extremely luminous active nuclei of galaxies powered by one or more supermassive black holes. If an active quasar were to approach the Earth, we would be in danger. The nearest galaxy with a quasar to Earth, Markarian 231, is approximately 600 million light-years away and is fed by two black holes! Even if it grows to enormous proportions, it will never reach our planet. Eventually, the black hole’s supply of gas and dust will run out. Then, as with all others, the black hole will run out of matter, and the quasar’s brilliant light will cease to shine. However, this will require billions of years.
Australian scientists were stunned when they discovered the quasar J1144. It is 500 times as massive as Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of our galaxy. The accretion disk of the supermassive blackhole that drives the quasar is the brightest ever observed by scientists. This is due to the black hole’s enormous event horizon and its rapid rate of matter attraction. According to scientists, the properties of J1144 may never be surpassed. Black holes are difficult to detect because they emit no light. However, when black holes pull matter towards the event horizon, they do so so rapidly that the matter transforms into extremely hot plasma, which emits light in a ring known as an accretion disk that surrounds the black hole. And despite its location in the constellation Centaurus, approximately seven billion light-years from Earth, J1144 is visible with a telescope pointed in the correct direction. Scientists have nearly exhausted the potential locations for black holes like this one. Predictions indicate that there should be approximately 40 quintillion black holes in the universe, which accounts for less than one percent of all matter. So there is still a possibility that a larger and more voracious black hole exists somewhere in the universe. J1144, the brightest quasar, poses no threat to our existence. But are they all safe for us? If a luminous, enormous quasar appeared nearby, it would almost certainly consume our entire star system. Millions, billions, or even trillions of electron volts are emitted by quasars. This energy surpasses the combined luminosity of a galaxy’s stars.
The universe’s most luminous objects are 10 to 1,000,000 times brighter than the Milky Way. These cosmic monsters sound somewhat frightening. But is there truly anything to be concerned about? The majority of black holes are stationary in space and absorb objects that fall into their gravitational pull. Another of the closest black holes to us, V616 Monocerotis, is more than 3,000 light years away. Therefore, even if this monster absorbs its binary counterpart and grows in size, it would have no effect on us. In addition to black holes and the quasars they produce, however, there are even more mysterious and powerful objects in space… Meet a neutron star. It possesses unparalleled power, which can be devastating to its neighbors. When a massive star with a mass greater than ten suns explodes in a supernova, it is not always transformed into a black hole. If its core lacks sufficient mass, it becomes a neutron star. In such stars, hot gas and dust are compressed to an extent that is difficult to imagine. After the explosion of supernova Cassiopeia A, the Chandra X-ray telescope detected a neutron star. The radius of the star is approximately 10 kilometers [6 miles]. A typical star with this mass would have a radius of over one million kilometers, or over 500,000 miles.
A teaspoon of neutron star material weighs approximately four billion tons! In contrast, a teaspoon of solar matter, such as that of our sun, would weigh only about 1.65 pounds [725 grams]. Due to the neutron star’s extreme density, it emits extremely powerful magnetic fields. Therefore, if a neutron star were suddenly placed in our solar system, its powerful magnetic fields would cause chaos. The planets’ orbits would be thrown off, and if a neutron star were close enough to Earth, it would cause the tides to become so powerful that they would rip apart our planet. Fortunately, there is no neutron star in our area. Astronomers using NASA’s Swift X-ray telescope recently discovered a similar star between 250 and 1,000 light-years away from Earth. This makes it the neutron star closest to our solar system. However, there are larger and more terrifying things in space. Galaxies frequently cause cosmic disasters and can even collide with one another. There appears to be ample space for them in space. However, numerous galaxies become so close that they begin to rotate shoulder to shoulder. This phenomenon could be observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. This triangle in deep space is caused by the collision of the bright spiral galaxy NGC 2445 on the left and its fainter companion NGC 2444 on the right. The event caused a rare triangle-shaped star formation. The same fate awaits our galaxy. Scientists have created an animation depicting the collision of the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy.
Researchers estimate that the merger will begin in approximately five billion years and conclude in eight billion years. This will result in the formation of Milkomeda, an enormous galaxy. In the newly formed galaxy, the solar system will likely remain intact. However, other stars may not be so fortunate. There are approximately one trillion stars in the Andromeda galaxy and 300 billion stars in our galaxy. Therefore, stars from both galaxies may be propelled into new orbits around the newly formed galactic center. In addition, the two supermassive black holes at the center of each galaxy are likely to merge, creating a new, much larger black hole. According to scientists, the process has already begun and the faint halos of the two galaxies have made contact. Today, we predict the future with the aid of science. And it’s astounding how many new discoveries we make each day.
