Gaia BH3
The recent discovery of Gaia BH3, announced by ESA on April 16, 2024, marks a significant milestone in astronomy. This dormant, 33 solar-mass black hole located in the Milky Way was identified using preliminary data from Gaia Data Release 4, employing binary solutions. This discovery, documented in the publication “Discovery of a dormant 33 solar-mass black hole in pre-release Gaia astrometry” in April 2024, positions Gaia BH3 as the largest stellar black hole discovered in our galaxy to date. This finding is critical as it provides insights into the population of dormant stellar black holes within the Milky Way and highlights the capability of Gaia’s extended observations, which are expected to unveil more such celestial phenomena in the coming years.
