‘Missing link’ black hole lurks in strange binary system with red giant star


For astronomers, finding a new black hole orbiting an aged red dwarf star is an exciting find in itself, but when that black hole seems to be a “missing link” stellar-mass black hole, you can crank the excitement up to 11! That is exactly what seems to be lurking in binary system G3425, estimated to be around 5,800 light-years away.

The visible component of G3425 is a red giant star, the kind of stellar body you get when a star exhausts its supply of hydrogen fuel and can no longer conduct nuclear fusion in its core. This causes its outer layers (where fusion continues) to “puff out” to as much as 100 times the star’s original width. 



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