Astronomers discover a mysterious object in the Milky Way

According to experts, it could be the first discovery of a radio pulsar – black hole binary – a pairing that could allow new tests of Einstein’s general relativity and open doors to the study of black holes.

Astronomers have discovered a mysterious object in the Milky Way (South African Radio Astronomy Observatory/PA)

A new and unknown object in the Milky Way that is heavier than the heaviest neutron stars known to scientists, and yet lighter than the lightest known black holes, has been discovered by astronomers.

Researchers from a number of institutions including The University of Manchester and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany found the object in orbit around a millisecond pulsar 40,000 light years away in a dense group of stars known as a globular cluster.