YOUNGEST & CLOSEST BLACKHOLE TO DATE DISCOVERED

Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have found evidence of the youngest black hole known to exist in our cosmic neighborhood. The 30-year-old black hole provides a unique opportunity to watch this type of object develop from infancy. The black hole could help scientists better understand how massive stars explode, which leave behind black holes or neutron stars.
The 30-year-old object is a remnant of SN 1979C, a supernova in the galaxy M100, which is approximately 50 million light-years from Earth. The scientists think SN 1979C, first discovered by an amateur astronomer in 1979, formed when a star about 20 times more massive than the Sun collapsed. Many new black holes in the distant universe previously have been detected in the form of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs).
However, SN 1979C is different because it is much closer and belongs to a class of supernovae unlikely to be associated with a GRB. Theory predicts most black holes in the universe should form when the core of a star collapses and a GRB is not produced.