NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory have discovered a possible “missing link” black hole, NGC 6099 HLX-1. This object is located 40,000 light-years from the center of a giant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Hercules.
Astronomers are excited about this discovery because it may be an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH), a type of black hole that has remained elusive despite significant efforts to detect them. IMBHs are too large to form from single stars and too small to glow with the brightness of supermassive black holes.
The discovery was made possible by observing X-rays emitted by NGC 6099 HLX-1, which is behaving like a tidal disruption event. This event occurs when a black hole tears apart a star, creating a hot, glowing disk of gas that spirals into the black hole. The X-ray emissions indicate a temperature of 3 million degrees, consistent with this event.
The Hubble Space Telescope also found evidence for a small cluster of stars around NGC 6099 HLX-1, providing a potential source of fuel for the black hole. This discovery has significant implications for our understanding of how galaxies grow and evolve over time.
According to scientists, IMBHs may play a crucial role in galaxy growth by slowly merging with other smaller black holes. The discovery of NGC 6099 HLX-1 provides new insights into this process and could lead to further discoveries of these elusive objects.
Source: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/ngc-6099-hlx-1-tidal-disruption-event