Unprecedented Discovery: Closest and Unique Black Holes Found Near Earth

Astronomers have discovered two black holes, Gaia BH1 and Gaia BH2, that are the closest to Earth known and are orbited by stars at much greater distances than previously observed in other black hole-companion star pairings. These black holes are completely dark and were detected via the gravitational effect they have on their companion stars. The discovery of these two black holes challenges current theories about the evolution of binary star systems and implies that black holes in wide orbits are more common in space than binaries where the black hole and star are closer.