Scientists Find an Exotic Black Hole Deemed a ‘Needle in a Haystack’

An artist’s impression showing what the binary star system VFTS 243—containing a black hole and a large luminous star orbiting each other—might look like if we were observing it up close, in this undated handout image. ESO/L. Calcada/Handout via Reuters

WASHINGTON—Astronomers have spotted in a galaxy adjacent to our Milky Way what they are calling a cosmic “needle in a haystack”—a black hole that not only is classified as dormant but appears to have been born without the explosion of a dying star.

Researchers said on Monday this one differs from all other known black holes in that it is “X-ray quiet”—not emitting powerful X-ray radiation indicative of gobbling up nearby material with its strong gravitational pull—and that it was not born in a stellar blast called a supernova.