NASA’s Hubble Discovers An Amazing Dynamic Duo Of Supermassive Black Holes
NASA explained that the dynamic duo of black holes, separated by only about 300 light-years, are being fueled by infalling gas and dust, which is causing them to shine brightly as active galactic nuclei (AGN). This AGN pair is the closest one detected in the local universe using multi-wavelength (visible and X-ray light) observations, while dozens of previously detected “dual” black holes were separated by a much greater distance. According to the space agency, AGN binaries like the one recently detected were most likely more common in the early universe when galaxy mergers were more frequent.
The detection of these two black holes happened by chance, as Hubble’s high-resolution imaging revealed three optical diffraction spikes inside the host galaxy. This indicated a large concentration of “glowing oxygen gas” within a small area.
“We were not expecting to see something like this,” explained Anna Trindade Falcao of the Center for Astrophysics, and lead author of the recently published paper on the subject. “This view is not a common occurrence in the nearby universe, and told us there’s something else going on inside the galaxy.”
Falcao and her team further examined the same galaxy using the Chandra X-ray Observatory. When the team viewed the galaxy in the X-ray band, they saw “two separated, powerful sources of high-energy emission” in line with the bright optical points seen with Hubble. They then put the puzzle pieces together and concluded they were most likely looking at two closely separated supermassive black holes. The team was able to support their findings using archival radio data from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array near Socorro, New Mexico.
The researchers say more data is needed to determine the source of the third bright light seen by Hubble. They indicated it might be gas that is shocked by energy from a jet of ultra high-speed plasma ejected from one of the black holes.
While the two supermassive black holes were at one time at the center of their respective host galaxies, the merger between the galaxies brought the two into close proximity of one another. The duo will continue to move closer together until they eventually merge, possibly in 100 million years. According to Falcao, “We wouldn’t be able to see all of these intricacies without Hubble’s amazing resolution.”