The pair of black holes is called PG 1302-102.
Earlier this year, ground-based telescopes spotted the two black holes 3.5 billion light-years away in the Virgo constellation. What makes the pair so special? They are separated by just a light-week. The next closest black hole pair is separated by 20 light-years.
Zoltan Haiman, a senior author of a study published today, explains the significance of this black hole pair. “This is the closest we’ve come to observing two black holes on their way to a massive collision,” said Haiman. “Watching this process reach its culmination can tell us whether black holes and galaxies grow at the same rate, and ultimately test a fundamental property of space-time: its ability to carry vibrations called gravitational waves, produced in the last, most violent, stage of the merger.”
Let’s take a step back for a second. Pg 1302-102 was discovered earlier this year by scientists at the California Institute of Technology. What caught their attention was a curious light signal coming from the center of a galaxy. Using ground-based telescopes, they were able to show the varying light signal is likely caused by two black holes orbiting each other every five years.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!