Galactic Fusion 76 Million Light-Years Away Will See Two Massive Black Holes Collide

At the center of NGC 7727 lie the closest pair of supermassive black holes ever discovered, which will coalesce to form a new black hole of even greater mass. Within 250 million years, the black holes in NGC 7727 are expected to merge as they are only 1600 light-years apart.

Located in the constellation Aquarius, NGC 7727 is a peculiar galaxy. This odd-looking galaxy is home to two galactic nuclei, and each harbors a supermassive black hole, separated 1,600 light years apart.

Several plumes and streams of irregular shape are on this object, which is classified as a galaxy with amorphous spiral arms at a distance of 23.3 megaparsecs (76 million light-years) from the Milky Way.

Using the VLT, the ESO has obtained an image of the galaxy NGC 7727, which was created by a stellar collision that occurred a billion years ago.

In its center lie the closest pair of supermassive black holes ever discovered, which will coalesce to form a new black hole of even greater mass.

NEWSLETTER

Never miss a news release from the Curiosmos team.

During the dance between galaxies, gravity creates tidal forces that dramatically change the shape of each partner. A galaxy formed by merging two galaxies causes the ‘tails’ of stars, gas, and dust to spin around each other, resulting in NGC 7727’s beautifully asymmetrical shape.

As seen in this image of the galaxy, the effects of this cosmic bump are spectacular. It was taken by the VLT FOCAL Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2). In spite of the fact that an ESO telescope has previously captured this galaxy, the new image offers a more detailed view of its main body as well as its faint tails.

This picture from the ESO VLT shows the tangled trails left behind when the two galaxies merged, forming the spectacular long arms that embrace NGC 7727. In this image, stars appear as bright blue-purple spots scattered along these arms.

An additional sign of the galaxy’s dramatic past can also be seen in this image, two bright points at the center. NGC 7727 still contains its original two galactic cores, each housing a supermassive black hole. In addition, there is a pair of supermassive black holes just 89 million light-years away from us, located in the constellation of Aquarius, making these the closest couple of supermassive black holes to Earth.

Within 250 million years, the black holes in NGC 7727 are expected to merge as they are only 1600 light-years apart. A massive black hole will form when the two black holes merge.

ESO’s upcoming Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) in Chile’s Atacama Desert, which is set to operate later this decade, will make a great leap forward in the search for similar hidden supermassive black hole pairs. Moreover, it is likely that we will make many more such discoveries at the centers of galaxies with the help of the ELT.

A collision between the Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy is expected in approximately 5 billion years. It is possible that the resulting galaxy will resemble NGC 7727, so this image could provide a glimpse into the future.

 

Related Posts

The Hubble Space Telescope has recorded the mass and position of a black hole for the first time

The HuƄƄle Space Telescope seeмs to Ƅe iмproʋing with age. How else can you explain the fact that it reʋeals knowledge that has Ƅeen kept hidden eʋen…

Planets Scream As They’re Ripped Apart, Astronomers Say

  Advertisements Unintentionally heartbreaking research suggests that as some planets break up, they may let out cosmic radio waves that sound like screams. In a recent interview…

A Super Rare Kilonova Explosion Was Captured By Hubble Telescope!

A kilonova is a huge explosion in space that is unlike anything you have ever heard of. That’s because it’s not just one star breaking up or…

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Beams Back The Sharpest Images Of Jupiter—Ever

On July 5, 2022, NASA’s Juno probe did its 43rd close flyby of Jupiter. It studied the colors and shapes of the clouds on the giant planet….

Astronomers find hidden galaxies at the edge of space and time

A team of researchers unintentionally discovered two hidden galaxies at the frontier of space and time. A group of scientists discovered and has now identified two hidden…

BREAKING : Astronomers just discovered an extreme supermassive black hole lurking at the edge of the universe

Astronomers from the University of Texas and the University of Arizona have discovered a fast-growing black hole in one of the most extreme galaxies known at the…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *