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Astronomers have estimated that around 170 million stellar-mass black holes are hidden throughout the Milky Way, offering the most detailed picture yet of the galaxy’s invisible population of these cosmic objects.
The findings, led by astrophysicist Tom Wagg of the Flatiron Institute in the United States, are based on advanced computer simulations that recreated the Milky Way’s 13.6-billion-year evolution. The study has been submitted to the AAS Journals and is currently available on the preprint server arXiv while awaiting peer review.
Stellar-mass black holes are formed when massive stars exhaust their nuclear fuel, explode as supernovae, and collapse under their own gravity into objects so dense that not even light can escape. Because they emit no light unless actively feeding on nearby material, most remain virtually impossible to detect.
To estimate their true numbers, researchers simulated billions of years of star formation, stellar deaths, black hole formation and galactic evolution. Their model suggests the Milky Way has produced about 170 million stellar-mass black holes over its lifetime.
Despite the huge number, the black holes are spread across the vast galaxy, making them relatively rare. At the Sun’s distance from the galactic centre, the study estimates there is roughly one black hole in every 6,250 cubic parsecs of space.
The research also predicts the distribution, masses and likely origins of these hidden black holes, providing a roadmap for future observations that could test the simulations and improve scientists’ understanding of the Milky Way’s unseen “Galactic Underworld.”
