Astronomers announced on April 5 that they may have detected a collision between a neutron star and a lightweight mystery object — an object larger than the largest known neutron star, but smaller than the smallest known black hole. The finding sheds light on objects that exist in this murky realm, which was long thought to be empty but, in recent times, has revealed otherwise.
The black hole candidate, which is about 2.5 to 4.5 times heavier than our sun, is heavier than the established limit of 2.5 suns for a neutron star — but lighter than the lightest known black hole, which weighs about five solar masses. This places the newfound object within the"mass gap," a mysterious region that separates the heaviest neutron stars from the lightest black holes.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over."It does appear that it could be possible now with these observations," Goetz said. Perhaps, he says, astronomers need to tweak the models — or maybe"we really do have a more complicated evolution of a heavy neutron star that evolved into a black hole.
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