<p>According to table 2 of <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1510.08869" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Corral Santana (2015)</a> (The BlackCAT catalogue of stellar mass black holes in X-ray transients - which other than gravitational waves, is how they are found), the nearest <strong>known</strong> black hole (as of 05 Dec 2022) is the primary of the V616 Mon system (otherwise known as A0620-003) at a distance of <span class="math-container">$1.06 \pm 0.10$</span> kpc (<span class="math-container">$3460 \pm 390$</span> ly).</p>
<p>Galactic black holes can only be found at present when they are in close binary systems with other stars (or black holes). This is the tiny minority of an estimated Galactic population of 100 million black holes. Gravitational wave detections of merging black hole binaries can be also be made, but these are rare and none have been observed from within our Galaxy.</p>
<p>The nearest black hole is likely invisible to us at present. A statistical estimate can be made (see <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/4725/statistically-what-would-the-average-distance-of-the-closest-black-hole-be">my answer here</a>) that the nearest will be within 20 pc or so, depending on the parent population and detailed physics of supernovae. Searches are currently underway for massive unseen companions to &quot;normal&quot; stars that might betray their presence by causing distinct wobbles in the observed motion of the normal star.</p>
<p>The online <a href="https://www.astro.puc.cl/BlackCAT/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BlackCAT catalogue</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Edit: Stop press.</strong> <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.06833" rel="nofollow noreferrer">El Badry et al. (2023)</a> report the discovery of a <span class="math-container">$&gt;5M_\odot$</span> unseen companion to a solar-type star, at a distance of <span class="math-container">$477\pm 4$</span> pc. This is likely to be a black hole and was discovered by observing the reflex motion of the companion star with Gaia.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-10T13:24:39.820Z
Love the name! :-)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2017-09-10T08:26:40.590Z
2022-12-07T00:16:06.333Z
2022-12-07T00:16:06.333Z
ProfRob
<p>Which is the nearest <em>known or suspected</em> black hole from the Solar System and how far is it from us? Is there an easily-viewed catalog that <em>astronomers use</em> to keep track of these?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-09T13:35:55.257Z
We don't know how close the nearest black hole is. It is almost certainly invisible. See https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/4725/statistically-what-would-the-average-distance-of-the-closest-black-hole-be
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-09T15:17:42.520Z
Looks like the nearest known one is still about 30,000 LY away, near galactic center: https://www.universetoday.com/137062/another-monster-black-hole-found-milky-way/
Wayfaring Stranger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-09T19:43:12.727Z
Possible duplicate of [Statistically, what would the average distance of the closest black hole be?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/4725/statistically-what-would-the-average-distance-of-the-closest-black-hole-be)
James K
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-10T07:18:44.403Z
Wikipedia lists are not the final word on a given subject. I think a far better way to handle this question would be to cite a proper "astronomer-quality" list of black holes. Surely astronomers do not refer to Wikipedia articles as sources of reliable information. I also think that the question should be left OPEN and answered because it is of particular interest to future readers. My goodness I had no idea there were so many black holes so close by! Why would you insta-close and burry the question instead of up voting and answering it? SE is about good answers, not question target practice
uhoh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-10T07:30:20.327Z
@JamesK no, asking "what is the closest" and asking "statistically, what would be the closest" are different questions. If you asked for the closest WC in a pinch, and someone only told you statistically speaking what the distance to the closest one would be, would you feel comfortable that your question had been adequately addressed?
uhoh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-10T07:31:22.260Z
@WayfaringStranger looks like you are wrong by a factor of ten.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-10T07:33:41.287Z
@RobJeffries I've modified the wording a bit to try to rescue this good question. I've added "known or suspected" because I think that's what the OP is looking for. However, that is a really important point and I think an answer should include that!
uhoh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-10T10:07:15.570Z
I'd always suggest questioners demonstrate some prior research in their question. However, in this case, the Wikipedia article quoted in comments isn't a particularly useful starting point so I think this is a good question.
MartinV
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-10T13:08:39.277Z
@uhoh, but the difference is that most are invisible. If I asked someone in Manchester station where the nearest toilet was, and he answered "I know of one in London", I'd think he was being obstructive. On the other hand if he said that he didn't know, but there is probably one nearby (statistically most mainline stations have toilets), that is honest, and more useful.
James K
<black-hole><binary-star>
How far is the nearest (known) black hole from our solar system? Is there an official list?
Gaurav Mody
# How far is the nearest (known) black hole from our solar system? Is there an official list?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-09)

Which is the nearest *known or suspected* black hole from the Solar System and how far is it from us? Is there an easily-viewed catalog that *astronomers use* to keep track of these?

**Tags:** black-hole, binary-star

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: We don't know how close the nearest black hole is. It is almost certainly invisible. See https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/4725/statistically-what-would-the-average-distance-of-the-closest-black-hole-be  
> **username_2**: Looks like the nearest known one is still about 30,000 LY away, near galactic center: https://www.universetoday.com/137062/another-monster-black-hole-found-milky-way/  
> **username_3**: Possible duplicate of [Statistically, what would the average distance of the closest black hole be?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/4725/statistically-what-would-the-average-distance-of-the-closest-black-hole-be)  
> **username_4**: Wikipedia lists are not the final word on a given subject. I think a far better way to handle this question would be to cite a proper "astronomer-quality" list of black holes. Surely astronomers do not refer to Wikipedia articles as sources of reliable information. I also think that the question should be left OPEN and answered because it is of particular interest to future readers. My goodness I had no idea there were so many black holes so close by! Why would you insta-close and burry the question instead of up voting and answering it? SE is about good answers, not question target practice  
> **username_4**: @username_3 no, asking "what is the closest" and asking "statistically, what would be the closest" are different questions. If you asked for the closest WC in a pinch, and someone only told you statistically speaking what the distance to the closest one would be, would you feel comfortable that your question had been adequately addressed?  
> **username_4**: @username_2 looks like you are wrong by a factor of ten.  
> **username_4**: @RobJeffries I've modified the wording a bit to try to rescue this good question. I've added "known or suspected" because I think that's what the OP is looking for. However, that is a really important point and I think an answer should include that!  
> **username_5**: I'd always suggest questioners demonstrate some prior research in their question. However, in this case, the Wikipedia article quoted in comments isn't a particularly useful starting point so I think this is a good question.  
> **username_3**: @username_4, but the difference is that most are invisible. If I asked someone in Manchester station where the nearest toilet was, and he answered "I know of one in London", I'd think he was being obstructive. On the other hand if he said that he didn't know, but there is probably one nearby (statistically most mainline stations have toilets), that is honest, and more useful.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-09-10. Score: 8

According to table 2 of [Corral Santana (2015)](https://arxiv.org/abs/1510.08869) (The BlackCAT catalogue of stellar mass black holes in X-ray transients - which other than gravitational waves, is how they are found), the nearest **known** black hole (as of 05 Dec 2022) is the primary of the V616 Mon system (otherwise known as A0620-003) at a distance of $1.06 \pm 0.10$ kpc ($3460 \pm 390$ ly).

Galactic black holes can only be found at present when they are in close binary systems with other stars (or black holes). This is the tiny minority of an estimated Galactic population of 100 million black holes. Gravitational wave detections of merging black hole binaries can be also be made, but these are rare and none have been observed from within our Galaxy.

The nearest black hole is likely invisible to us at present. A statistical estimate can be made (see [my answer here](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/4725/statistically-what-would-the-average-distance-of-the-closest-black-hole-be)) that the nearest will be within 20 pc or so, depending on the parent population and detailed physics of supernovae. Searches are currently underway for massive unseen companions to "normal" stars that might betray their presence by causing distinct wobbles in the observed motion of the normal star.

The online [BlackCAT catalogue](https://www.astro.puc.cl/BlackCAT/).

**Edit: Stop press.** [El Badry et al. (2023)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.06833) report the discovery of a $>5M\_\odot$ unseen companion to a solar-type star, at a distance of $477\pm 4$ pc. This is likely to be a black hole and was discovered by observing the reflex motion of the companion star with Gaia.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Love the name! :-)  

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