'Bigger than the Sun': Scientists chase a mystery signal and find 2 black holes in a shocking feeding frenzy
Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
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Cosmic Titans
Supermassive black holes, millions to billions of times the Sun’s mass, are consuming galaxies and rewriting cosmic history.
Mysterious Signal
A peculiar radiation pattern, AT 2021hdr, was detected by the Zwicky Transient Facility in 2021.
Unusual Oscillations
Lorena Hernández-García identified a unique light pattern repeating every 60-90 days, never seen before.
Gas Cloud
The signal’s source is theorized to be a massive galactic gas cloud, devoured by black hole giants.
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Binary Duo
Two black holes, orbiting each other at a one-light-day distance, create the observed radiation anomaly.
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Simulation Fit
Computer models confirmed the system involves two black holes and a Sun-mass gas cloud interacting.
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Future Merger
The binary black holes, with a combined mass of 40 million Suns, may merge in 70,000 years.
Galactic Insights
The findings could revolutionize our understanding of galaxy evolution and black hole feeding.
Challenging Task
Hernández-García emphasized the difficulty of identifying binary black holes with current technology.