Science & Tech
Ellie Abraham
Sep 24, 2024
ZMG - Amaze Lab / VideoElephant
Experts have observed two pairs of black holes on the verge of colliding for the very first time in rare cosmic event.
With advances in technology, astrologers have been able to view outer space in greater detail than ever before, witnessing a huge black hole “starving” its host galaxy to death and answering questions that have long gone unanswered.
In another rare celestial marvel, experts have made an astronomical discovery after witnessing two pairs of supper massive black holes about to merge together – and it’s the first instance of large black holes seen within merging dwarf galaxies.
The event unfolded in two dwarf galaxies which can be found 760 million and 3.2 billion light-years away, respectively, from our galaxy.
It was captured by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and revealed another never-before-seen phenomenon as experts found that each galaxy possesses two supermassive black holes at its core.
The discovery was made after astronomers observed the X-ray radiation emitted from their accretion disks – the circle of superheated plasma around a black hole that is emitted as it takes in matter.
Thanks to the Chandra Observatory’s specialised equipment the phenomenon was spotted and recorded, giving experts a potential insight into how large galaxies, such as our Milky Way, are formed.
Experts theorise that dwarf galaxies are the building blocks of mature galaxies that form over billions of years as they continue to merge.
Brenna Wells, co-author of the study, explained: “Most dwarf galaxies and black holes in the early universe have likely grown much larger now, thanks to repeated mergers. In a way, dwarf galaxies are our galactic ancestors, evolving over billions of years to produce large galaxies like our own Milky Way.”
The study was published in The Astrophysical Journals.
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