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Who found the first black hole?

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Black holes are some of the strangest and most fascinating objects found in outer space. They are objects of extreme density, with such strong gravitational attraction that even light cannot escape from their grasp if it comes near enough. read more

Einstein predicted the existence of black holes in his general theory of relativity, published in 1916. In 1971, Cygnus X-1, an X-ray binary star, became the first object to be recognized as a black hole. read more

The first object considered to be a black hole is Cygnus X-1. Rockets carrying Geiger counters discovered eight new X-ray sources. In 1971, scientists detected radio emissions coming from Cygnus X-1, and a massive hidden companion was found and identified as a black hole. read more

HBE226868 was orbiting something massive, alright. But it was orbiting it at an incredible speed: more than 200 times the speed of sound. That meant Cygnus X-1 was much smaller and much denser than a neutron star. It meant Cygnus X-1 was a black hole. It seems that once upon a time, there was a really, really, really, really, really BIG star. read more

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Are Black Holes Real?
www.skyandtelescope.com

How are black holes discovered?
curious.astro.cornell.edu