Astronomers Discover Closest Black Hole to Earth, Say It’s 10 Times Bigger Than the Sun

An artist's impression of the closest black hole to Earth and its sun-like companion star are shown in this illustration provided by NOIRLab in November 2022. International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine/M. Zamani

Astronomers have discovered the closest known black hole to Earth, which is 1,600 light-years away and is 10 times larger than the sun, according to a new study published on Nov. 4.

The stellar-mass black hole, dubbed “Gaia BH1,” is located in the constellation Ophiuchus, according to the U.S.-based National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab).