The Birth of a Black Hole Seen for the First Time (or was it a Neutron Star?)

A black hole may have been spotted in the process of formation for the first time in history — an event astronomers have long wanted to witness. There is also a chance that the phenomenon was a neutron star — a super dense corpse of a once-massive star — being formed, which in itself would be historic.

Astronomers at the ATLAS twin telescopes in Hawaii detected a massive burst of energy on June 17th, 2017, coming from a point 200 million light years away from Earth. After a dramatic flare, the source, seen in the constellation Hercules, quickly faded. Researchers designated the object AT2018cow, although most are affectionately calling it “The Cow.”

“We knew right away that this source went from inactive to peak luminosity within just a few days. That was enough to get everybody excited because it was so unusual and, by astronomical standards, it was very close by,” said Raffaella Margutti, astrophysicist at Northwestern University.

A patch of white shows the formation of a black hole or neutron star — nicknamed “The Cow” in the galaxy CGCG 137–068. Image: Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

When massive stars die, they collapse into incredibly dense objects, including neutron stars or black holes. Most normal matter, including that which makes up stars, is composed of neutrons (having no electrical charge) and positively-charged protons in the nucleus, surrounded by clouds of negatively-charged electrons. Under the…