May 7, 2020, 1:34 AM ⢠3 min read. A new map of the Milky Way places Earth closer to the galaxy's center â and the supermassive hole therein, Sagittarius A*. The system is close enough to Earth that the stars near the black hole can be seen with the naked eye. The Milky Way Galaxy is thought to contain hundreds of millions of black holes. European astronomers have found the closest black hole to Earth yet, so near that the two stars dancing with it can be seen by the naked eye. By Ashley Strickland, CNN. A black hole was discovered lurking quietly in a system just 1,000 light-years from Earth. âThis system contains the nearest black hole to Earth that we know of,â says ESO scientist Thomas Rivinius, who led the study published today (May 6, 2020) in Astronomy & Astrophysics. European astronomers have found the closest black hole to Earth yet, so near that the two stars dancing with it can be seen by the naked eye. ... November 8, 2020. But don't worry, this doesn't mean that our planet is critical. By Daniel Clery May. In fact, this black hole did not develop near our earth, but its position has been revealed by new models based on new and precise data. The team originally observed the system, called HR 6819, as part of a study of double-star systems. Photos: Wonders of the universe. Earth just got 7 km/s faster and about 2000 light-years closer to the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. ... European astronomers have found the closest black hole to Earth yet, so near that the two stars dancing with it can be seen by the naked eye. Astronomers find the closest black hole to Earth, 1,000 light-years away. A black hole with millions of times more mass than the sun is hurtling towards Earth and will one day wipe out life as we know it. ... May 7, 2020, 12:32 PM UTC. Of course, close is relative on the galactic scale. Earth just got 7 km/s faster and about 2000 light-years closer to the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Updated 1200 GMT (2000 HKT) May 6, 2020 . Astronomers find closest black hole to Earth, hiding in plain sight. As if 2020 wasn't âunprecedentedâ enough, astronomers have learned that Earth is actually 2,000 light years closer to the Sagittarius A* supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy than was previously thought. On top of that, ⦠For about 15 years, VERA, a radio astronomy project in Japan, has been collecting related data. 6, 2020 , 8:00 AM.