Scientists Find Nearest-Known Black Hole, In Distressingly Fitting Metaphor

If it feels as if gravity has been tugging harder than it usually does the past couple of months, it'd be easy to guess why — what with the global pandemic, a hemorrhaging economy and the strain of staying at least six feet away from just about everyone.

So perhaps it's an appropriate time to add news of another impossibly dark, heavy item to the list.

The European Southern Observatory announced Wednesday that a team of astronomers has discovered the closest-known black hole to Earth, roughly 1,000 light-years away. They found it hiding in a double-star system known as HR 6819, where scientists say the black hole — rendered effectively invisible by gravity so strong that even light cannot escape — revealed itself in the curious orbit of the star nearer the center of the system.