很多时候，寻找黑洞都是为了寻找围绕黑洞运行的恒星。许多黑洞都是如此，比如位于银河系中心的超大质量黑洞。但科学家们相信，有数以亿计的黑洞在太空中漂移。因此，至少有一个可能在宇宙中游荡是有道理的。
研究这一发现的不同小组说，该天体的质量在1.6到7.1个太阳质量之间。这些估计是粗略的，而且取决于它的位置，这个天体可能是他们怀疑的“流浪”黑洞，或者只是另一颗中子星。不管它最终是什么，它都位于离地球5000光年的地方。因此，它很快就会接近地球，几乎没有危险。
自从1964年首次发现天鹅座X-1（Cygnus X-1）以来，科学家们一直在尽可能地研究黑洞。今年早些时候，天文学家们也成功捕捉到了我们银河系黑洞的第一张图片。但是发现一个在宇宙中“游荡”的黑洞，也许有点出乎意料。而且，正如研究人员所指出的，它可能根本就不是一个黑洞。
哈勃将在2022年下半年观测该天体所在的区域。随着更多的观测，天文学家们希望我们能够完全分辨出它是一个游荡的黑洞还是一颗中子星。无论怎样，这一发现都是值得注意和庆祝的。
《天体物理学杂志》已经接受了另一个研究该天体的团队的发现的论文。它将于今年晚些时候发表。
Most of the time, the search for black holes is to find stars orbiting black holes. This is true of many black holes, such as the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky way. But scientists believe there are hundreds of millions of black holes drifting in space. So it makes sense that there is at least one possibility of wandering in the universe.
Different teams studying the discovery say the mass of the object is between 1.6 and 7.1 solar masses. These estimates are rough, and depending on its location, the object may be a “stray” black hole they suspect, or just another neutron star. Whatever it is in the end, it is located 5000 light-years from Earth. As a result, it will soon be close to the earth, with little danger.
Since the first discovery of Cygnus Xmi 1 in 1964, scientists have been studying black holes as much as possible. Earlier this year, astronomers also successfully captured the first picture of a black hole in our Milky way galaxy. But it may be a bit unexpected to find a black hole “wandering” in the universe. And, as the researchers point out, it may not be a black hole at all.
Hubble will observe the region of the object in the second half of 2022. With more observations, astronomers hope we can fully tell whether it is a wandering black hole or a neutron star. In any case, this discovery is worthy of attention and celebration.
The Astrophysical Journal has accepted another paper on the discovery of the object by a team studying the object. It will be released later this year.
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