Supermassive Black Hole Duo

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach in collaboration with NASA’s Universe of Learning partners: Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Video imagery:

·       Artist’s concept, pair of active supermassive black holes: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

·       Hubble Space Telescope image, galaxy MCG-03-34-064: NASA, ESA, Anna Trindade Falcão (CfA)

 

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A grid of photographs of celestial bodies moves up. A white line moves down and another across. Text: News from the universe. The text is above an image of Jupiter.

 

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September 16, 2024, Supermassive Black Hole Duo. Artist's Concept.

 

Working together, multiple telescopes have confirmed a very close pair of supermassive black holes in the local universe.

 

A red spiral with a perpendicular line through it against stars in a reddish-black background.

 

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Text: The two black holes are 300 light-years apart.

 

Once they were each at the core of two separate galaxies, which have merged into one.

 

A second spiral comes into view with a beam of light from the center.

 

Text: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope revealed distinct bright sources embedded in a white ellipse at the core of the new, merged galaxy.

 

Two images from the Hubble Space Telescope with bright ovals with halos.

 

Text: NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio data from the Jansky Very Large Array both confirmed the sources.

 

One image appears with a blue halo and one with a tan halo.

 

(Quote) "When you see bright light in optical, X-rays, and radio wavelengths, a lot of things can be ruled out, leaving the conclusion these can only be explained as close black holes," said astronomer Anna Trindade Falcão.

 

Text: The energetic light comes from matter falling toward the black holes and being converted into energy.

 

Artist's Concept. The beam of light comes from the black center of swirls of yellow, orange and red.

 

Text: The two black holes will continue to come closer together until they eventually merge, which will send out gravitational waves through the fabric of space-time.

 

The swirls recede against stars in a brownish red background.

 

Text: This news was brought to you in part by the SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE IN BALTIMORE, Maryland.