A Cluster of Black Holes Found Inside a Globular Cluster of Stars:

[soothsayer]

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Universe Today
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A Cluster of Black Holes Found Inside a Globular Cluster of Stars: https://universetoday.com/150142/a-cluster-of-black-holes-found-inside-a-globular-cluster-of-stars/… by @BrianKoberlein


Snip

Black holes come in at least two sizes: small and large. Small black holes are formed from stars. When a large star reaches the end of its life, it typically ends in a supernova. The remnant core then collapses under its own weight, forming a black hole or neutron star. Small stellar-mass black holes are typically tens of solar masses. Large black holes lurk in the centers of galaxies. These supermassive black holes can be millions or billions of solar masses. They formed during the early universe and triggered the formation and evolution of galaxies around them.

But perhaps black holes also come in medium. These intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) might grow from the rapid mergers of stellar-mass black holes, and would be hundreds or thousands of solar masses. It’s long been thought that intermediate-mass black holes could form in the hearts of globular clusters.

Globular clusters are dense stellar clusters typically containing hundreds of thousands of stars. They formed in the early history of the universe and may be older than galaxies themselves. Because globular clusters are densely packed, their stars often have close encounters. These flybys tend to drive smaller, less massive stars toward the outer regions of the clusters, and more massive stars towards the center. Thus, it’s possible that stars in the core of a globular cluster could merge to create an intermediate-mass black hole.