Scientists have seen two galaxies and a black hole collide and merge 13 billion light-years away. This is the first time scientists have observed such an ancient merger.
Using the powerful James Webb telescope, astronomers saw the collision of two galaxies. Black holes with galaxies at their cores merged into a supermassive black hole.
One of the two black holes was at least 50 million times as massive as our Sun. The other probably has a similar mass, but is more difficult to measure because it is “hidden” under a dense layer of gas.
The so-called “monster collision” happened “only” 740 million years after the Big Bang, researchers write in Kuukausilehti. Royal Astronomical Society. The universe is now about 13.8 billion years old.
Black hole mergers have been seen for the first time
According to researchers, black holes regularly collided and merged in the early years of the universe. This process resulted in supermassive black holes, such as the one around which the Milky Way orbits.
“One of the biggest mysteries in cosmology is how black holes can grow so large. The merging of multiple black holes is a very strong explanation,” says lead researcher Roberto Maiolino.
Astronomers already knew that galaxies could collide. But now, for the first time, they saw how the black holes in those galaxies merged.
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