Discovering the Milky Way's new black hole

NASA said the Swift satellite had captured X-ray beams from a place near the center of the Milky Way, evidence that the existence of a previously unknown black hole. The new black hole has been named Swift J1745-26.

Conceptual illustration of a black hole that draws gas from a companion star

'Dazzling X-ray bursts are so rare that they are events that can only be met once in research missions, and this is the first time the Swift satellite has witnessed such an incident ,' according to Nasa.gov's website quoted Neil Gehrels, Swift's mission leader at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The newly discovered black hole has a companion star. Air flows from this star to the disk around the black hole.

Unlike the giant black hole in the center of the Milky Way, Swift J1745-26 has masses many times lower, often equivalent to only a few stars.

Experts hope that when the X-ray beam fades, they can measure the mass and confirm its official identity, whether or not it is a black hole.