"Massive Surprise: Close Proximity Discovery of Milky Way's Largest Black Hole"

Scientists analyzing data from ESA's Gaia mission have discovered a dormant black hole, named Gaia BH3, with a mass nearly 33 times that of the Sun, located in the constellation Aquila less than 2000 light-years from Earth. This is the first time a black hole of this size has been found within the Milky Way, challenging current understanding of stellar evolution. The discovery was made possible by the unmatched accuracy of Gaia's data, and the black hole's companion, an ancient giant star, may provide clues to its origin. The finding is expected to lead to further in-depth studies and promises to be a significant contribution to the study of binary systems and dormant black holes in our galaxy.