A new black hole discovered by Russian astronomers have been dedicated to late physicist Stephen Hawking. The late British cosmologist had devoted his entire life to studying the universe. Scientists from the Moscow State University observed the "gamma-ray burst" in the constellation two days after Hawking's death. The newly found black hole lies in the Ophiuchus constellation northwest of the center of the Milky Way. It is situated near the constellations Aquila, Serpens and Hercules, and opposite Orion. Although Ophiuchus is relatively a large constellation, it is still one of the least-examined group of stars in the observable cosmos.

The burst was caused because of the collapse of a star which in turn, led to the formation of a black hole. Gamma-ray astronomy says gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are extremely energetic explosions observed in distant galaxies. They are the brightest electromagnetic events known to occur in the universe. The bursts can last from ten milliseconds to several hours. While gamma-ray bursts occur almost every day, it is nearly impossible to refocus a telescope to capture the release of energy. This explosion was captured by a MASTER-IAC robotic telescope installed in Tenerife, Spain.

The newest astronomical research has been registered under the name GRB180316A on Mar 16, 2018. Stephen Hawking died on March 14, at the age of 76 in his Cambridge home. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a debilitating neurological condition at a young age and lived with it for over half a century.

Hawking's studies on black holes and theories of gravity were major parts of his research. He had theorized that contrary to the scientific belief, black holes were inescapable for all forms of matter and energy, he said that they actually emitted a form of radiation, now known as Hawking radiation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 22, 2018 01:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).