Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Andromeda Galaxy Photobombed by Supermassive Black Hole

A
research team using data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory with
additional data from the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii has discovered
that a binary star system that was thought to be a part of the
Andromeda galaxy is in fact 1,000 times more distant than previously
thought. Further research has shown that J0045+41 is in fact not stars,
but a pair of giant black holes. Astronomers believe that the
black hole binary system is located about 2.6 billion light-years from
Earth. In comparison, if researchers are correct, the separation between
the two giant black holes may only be a 1/100th of a light-year apart.
This would correspond to only about a few hundred times the distance
between our Earth and the Sun. According to a statement from Chandra
X-Ray Observatory: "Such a system could be formed as a consequence of
the merger, billions
of years earlier, of two galaxies that each contained a supermassive
black hole. At their current close separation, the two black holes are
inevitably being drawn closer together as they emit gravitational waves."

Article Compiled By: Kyle Tam

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