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Astronomers have discovered six galaxies trapped in the gravitational ‘web’ of a supermassive black hole.
Researchers from the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) believe that it formed 900 million years after the Big Bang, so this is the first time such a close grouping has been found within the first billion years of the universe.
This gas network, which is more than 300 times the size of the Milky Way, was discovered by the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
These astronomers are very literal in naming big things, aren’t they? ‘Quick! Get the Very Large Telescope, I have seen a supermassive black hole formed within a billion years after the Big Bang!
Still, the discovery is important, because scientists have long puzzled how these supermassive black holes accumulate this massiveness so quickly, and this finding will help them figure it out.
Roberto Gilli, an INAF astronomer and co-author of the study, said: “Our work has placed an important piece in the largely incomplete puzzle that is the formation and growth of such extreme, but relatively abundant, objects so rapidly after the Big Bang. . ”
Marco Mignoli, lead author of the study and also an INAF astronomer, added: “This research was primarily driven by a desire to understand some of the most challenging astronomical objects: supermassive black holes in the early universe. These are extreme systems and not dated. we have had a good explanation for its existence.
“The filaments of the cosmic web are like cobweb threads. Galaxies stay and grow where the filaments intersect, and streams of gas, available to power both the galaxies and the central supermassive black hole, can flow along the filaments “.
But how exactly did this space web come about? Most likely it has something to do with dark matter.
Colin Norman of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, who was also a co-author of the study, said: “Our finding supports the idea that the most distant and massive black holes form and grow inside massive dark matter halos. in large-scale structures, and that the absence of previous detections of such structures was probably due to observation limitations. “
The team has named the supermassive black hole and the surrounding galaxies SDSS J1030 + 0524, which sounds like it was taken straight from Elon Musk’s list of baby names.
Barbara Balmaverde, another INAF co-author and astronomer, said: “We think we’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg and that the few galaxies discovered so far around this supermassive black hole are only the brightest.”
Yes, andor you want to learn a lot about J1030 + 0524, so you can read his research here.
Featured Image Credit: IS SUN. Sidewalk
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