Discovery of a 33 solar mass black hole in the solar neighbourhood from Gaia astrometry

ABSTRACT: Three weeks ago, on April 16, the European Space Agency's Gaia mission team revealed the discovery of a large black hole in the constellation Aquila, situated less than 2,000 light-years from the Earth. With a mass approximately 33 times that of the Sun, this is the first black hole of stellar origin this big to be identified within the Milky Way.  Previously, such massive black holes were only observed in distant galaxies. This finding challenges our understanding of the development and evolution of massive stars. In this seminar, I will detail the discovery, explore its significance, and offer a glimpse of what will come next.