Gaia BH1 compared to the Sun

Quiet stellar-mass black hole (9.27 solar masses) orbited by a Sun-like star; found purely from its gravity.

Can you see it?

As of 2026, no telescope can show this one; it is here to be understood, not spotted.

Gaia BH1 has roughly nine times the mass of the Sun.

Anything light from there tells us is news about 1,600 years old.

Why it stands out: Closest known stellar-mass black hole to Earth; that it gives off no X-rays suggests more “sleeping” black holes may be hiding in the galaxy.
How much mass it has: 9.27 solar masses.; How we know: ESA’s Gaia spacecraft tracked the companion star’s position with extreme precision for years and found it wobbling around something unseen with 9.27 solar masses.

The numbers

Distance from us	about 1,600 light-years