Published 23:16 IST, September 11th 2024

Two Supermassive Black Holes on Collision Course: What This Cosmic Crash Means for Us

Two supermassive black holes, 800 million light-years away, are on a collision course, set to merge and warp space-time.

Reported by: Garvit Parashar
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Two Supermassive Black Holes on Collision Course: What This Cosmic Crash Means for Us | Image: X
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In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have detected two supermassive black holes in close orbit around each or, located 800 million light-years from Earth. This unprecedented finding, revealed in a paper published in  Astrophysical Journal, is poised to shake very fabric of reality as black holes are set to collide in approximately 100 million years.

team, led by postdoctoral researcher Anna Trinde Falcão from Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, utilized Hubble Space Telescope to observe galaxy MCG-03-34-64. This galaxy, situated nearly a billion light-years away, revealed three glowing blobs of oxygen gas through Hubble’s vanced imaging capabilities.

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two black holes appeared exceedingly close toger in optical wavelengths, so much so that y seemed to merge into a single entity. NASA has likened cosmic spectacle to “two Sumo wrestlers squaring off.” By analyzing data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, researchers confirmed presence of se powerful black holes within glowing blobs.

Despite breakthrough, scientists were unable to identify origin of third oxygen blob observed by Hubble. It is hyposized that black holes might have started orbiting each or following a collision of ir host galaxies.

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anticipated collision of se black holes, set to occur in more than 100 million years, is expected to release gravitational shockwaves that will distort space-time across vast distances. discovery of se supermassive black holes is being described as “serendipitous” by researchers, with Trinde Falcão attributing it to “amazing resolution” of Hubble Telescope.

“This view is not a common occurrence in nearby universe, and told us re’s something else going on inside galaxy,” said Trinde Falcão. finding underscores capabilities of modern telescopes in uncovering cosmic phenomena and expanding our understanding of universe.

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23:16 IST, September 11th 2024