What would happen if two black holes collided? This question has long concerned space scientists. Hypothetically, if two black holes were to crash into each other, researchers predict a catastrophe of galactic proportions would happen. But according to their estimations, that won’t happen in the next 100,000 years.
Astophysicists from Columbia University, New York City, found that two supermassive black holes from the Virgo constellation are orbiting around each other and may be a lot closer than scientists have previously estimated. If the two constellation were to collide someday, scientists say that a shockwave of gravitational force would surge through time and space, turning a big part of the universe topsy-turvy.
The two black holes are 3.5 billion light-years far from our galaxy, and give researchers important insight on the growth of our universe.
Black holes are not as elusive as some might think. Oftentimes, supermassive black holes lie at the center of the biggest galaxies in the universe. Close to its core, our Milky Way also contains a giant black hole as well. Just as Albert Einstein predicted through his theory of relativity, black holes grow bigger in time, eventually becoming so big they could absorb stars, galaxies, and sometimes, even smaller black holes. Daniel D’Orazio, graduate student at Columbia University, declared “The detection of gravitational waves lets us probe the secrets of gravity and test Einstein’s theory in the most extreme environment in our universe – black holes.” D’Orazio, who is the study’s lead author, also adds that getting there would be the holy grail in his field.
Astrophysicists of Columbia University, New York City, said that the two black holes are the closest they’ve ever seen yet, and may be currently approaching each other and eventually collide. By observing the process, astrophysicists will be able to tell us whether black holes grow at the same rate as galaxies. If that were to be true, a fundamental theory of spacetime would be proved: its ability to conduct gravitational waves.
The two black holes were discovered last winder by researchers at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. The team of astrophysicists seen the quasars that black holes sometimes visibly produce as they burn the gas around them. They are flickering lights that illuminate periodically.
According to scientists, when two black holes are approaching collision, the quasars will start to illuminate at regular intervals. The quasars of this particular pair of black holes are 14% brighter than those of other black holes.
Photo Credits wikipedia
