Move over, explosive supernovas—there’s a new cosmic origin story in town! 🔭 Astronomers have discovered a black hole trio that could rewrite what we know about how these mysterious giants form. The system, named V404 Cygni, is 7,800 light-years away and features a black hole orbiting *two* stars instead of one—the first such triple setup ever observed!
Typically, black holes are born when massive stars explode in fiery supernovas 💥. But this trio’s tight gravitational bond hints at a quieter origin. Researchers say the black hole likely formed via direct collapse—a ‘failed supernova’ where the star implodes without a blast. ‘It’s like the universe hit mute on that explosion,’ says MIT astronomer Kevin Burdge, lead author of the study in Nature.
The black hole weighs 9x our Sun and is slowly devouring its closest star companion 🍴. The system’s survival over 4 billion years suggests a ‘gentle’ birth, as a violent supernova would’ve torn it apart. ‘This is direct proof that not all black holes need fireworks to form,’ adds Caltech co-author Kareem El-Badry.
What’s next? The team hopes studying similar systems will reveal how often black holes skip the explosive phase. Spoiler: This trio won’t stay three forever—the black hole’s hungry habits mean it might eventually become a lone wolf… or a binary partner. 🪐
