Three black holes orbit each other before 'collision'
American and Chinese researchers have discovered three black holes spinning in space at extremely fast speeds, a study published on July 24 said.
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The cluster SDSS J0849+1114 consists of three black holes orbiting each other very quickly. Photo:Metro. |
The discovery of two black holes merging is fairly common in the scientific community. However, an international team of researchers was puzzled when they caught sight of three giant black holes on a collision course. The black hole cluster is collectively known as SDSS J0849+1114. The researchers classified it as an active galactic nucleus (AGN). They made detailed observations of SDSS J0849+1114 using the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Radio Interferometer.
Using data from the instruments, the team concluded that the three black holes were trapped in orbit around each other. The gas clouds that surround and feed the cluster are moving at speeds of 500 to 1,000 kilometers per second. The observations suggest that as the black holes continue to orbit each other, their cluster will shrink until they eventually collide. This massive collision could happen within the next two billion years.
While the team is certain the collision will happen, they’re not sure what will happen next. They hypothesize that either the trio will form a single supermassive black hole or that just two black holes will merge. If the former is the case, it could explain the nature of the giant black hole cores found in elliptical galaxies like M87. The team suggests that similar black hole systems may have been more common in the early universe, when galaxies merged more frequently.