Overview

• Astronomers have discovered a mystery object in the Milky Way that is more massive than the heaviest neutron star but lighter than the smallest black hole.
• The object was discovered using the MeerKAT Radio Telescope, orbiting a rapidly spinning neutron star located around 40,000 light-years away within a dense clump of stars called a 'globular cluster'.
• The object has more mass than any known neutron star but less than any known black hole, landing it right in the black hole mass gap.
• The discovery could help scientists better determine where to draw the dividing line between neutron stars and black holes.
• Uncovering the true nature of the companion will be a turning point in our understanding of neutron stars, black holes, and whatever else might be lurking in the black hole mass gap.