Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
Astronomers have identified a possible collision between two supermassive black holes in the galaxy MCG-03-34-64, which is approximately 800 million light-years away, according to a report by Universe Today.
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, three optical hot spots were detected in the galaxy. Further investigation using Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio data suggests two of these spots are likely supermassive black holes close to merging.
This observation captures a rare glimpse of galaxy collisions in the present-day universe. The two supermassive black holes are predicted to merge in roughly 100 million years, eventually creating gravitational waves and igniting galactic activity like star formation.
The merging black holes offer astronomers a valuable opportunity to study the final stages of “supermassive black hole binary coalescence.” These events provide key data to measure the effects of black hole mergers.
This observation is expected to aid future research using gravitational wave detectors, such as the upcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), designed to detect the ripples in space caused by such black hole collisions.
The data gathered from this event provides a clearer understanding of how galaxy mergers and supermassive black hole interactions influence galaxy evolution and cosmic structures.
This discovery not only contributes to the study of black hole mergers but also promises to enhance future observations of such cosmic phenomena using multi-spectrum light observatories and advanced detectors.