Replica
Astronomers tracked what they believe could be an extremely rare explosion in space – a powerful flash of light that they believe came from a pair of fused black holes, almost like a gigantic emergency cosmic eruption.
In May 2019, NASA astronomers caught the telltale gravitational waves coming off a black hole fusion, Living science reports. 34 days later, an observatory noticed the explosion coming from the same region of the sky. If the two are really related, the astronomers are not yet positive, it would mean that NASA has unusual new data that could help explain the mysteries of black holes.
Tinder
The explosion itself is unprecedented, but its underlying conditions are almost impossibly rare, Living science reports. According to the observatory data, scientists suspect that two relatively small black holes merged while both orbiting a supermassive black hole, according to research published in the journal Thursday. Physical examination Letters.
The strength of that merger, Living science They reportedly sent the newly merged black hole, incinerating anything on the supermassive black hole’s accretion disk in its wake.
Incredible Odds
The unlikely scenario presents an opportunity for astronomers to understand how and why black holes merge, but first they have to confirm that the explosion and fusion are really related.
“This detection is extremely exciting,” said NASA astrophysicist Daniel Stern in a press release. “There is a lot we can learn about these two fused black holes and the environment they were in based on this signal that they inadvertently created.”
READ MORE: Scientists see a flash of light from colliding black holes. But how?[[[[Living science]
More about black holes: Astronomers find the closest black hole to Earth, and it’s strange
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