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Astronauts always long to witness rare phenomena that may offer new premises for future research. Speaking of rare phenomena and research, there is probably nothing more interesting to astronomers than black holes.
Whether it was mentioned by Albert Einstein, explained by Stephen Hawking, or his first observation in 2019, black holes have always been mysterious.
One of the most recent but extremely rare observations is the merger of two black holes that was recently captured by scientists from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo Interferometer in Pisa, Italy. News of the black hole merger was initially shared on April 18 during the American Physical Society virtual conference.
According to scientists, LIGO is a pair of twin detectors, based in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana. The merger, identified as GW190412, was explained in a video that was published in Arvix magazine.
The GW190412 event took place about 1.9 to 2.9 billion light years away from Earth, and the two black holes weighed approximately 8 and 30 solar masses, the scientists said.
This event has opened new limits for further study on black holes, their fusion and gravitational waves, they added.
In a press release, Independent Research Group leader Max Planck Frank Ohme said: “For the first time in GW190412 we have” heard “the unmistakable hum of gravitational waves from a higher harmonic, similar to the harmonics of musical instruments” . This observation again tests Einstein’s theory of general relativity, he added.
(PNN and agencies)
