Astronomers were able to pinpoint the location of two black holes in colliding galaxies from a ground-based telescope
The small blue dots show a small star cluster that changes due to the merger. The green line represents a distance of 1600 light years.
Photo: C. Max, G. Canalizo, W. de Vries
Astronomers have detected an advanced galaxy merger and pinpointed the location of two supermassive black holes at the center of the galaxies. These two giants are spiraling around each other, and in millions of years they will merge.
The two galaxies are collectively known as NGC 6240, and are 300 million light-years away. The object was photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope and by the Chanadra Space Telescope, however it was not possible to photograph all the wavelengths from one telescope. Recently, the two were photographed by the new WMKeck observatory, in the Hawaiian Islands, which uses corrective optics technology. NGC 6240 shows that there are two disks of stars with a supermassive black hole at the center of each.
Hundreds of millions of years ago, the two galaxies were far from each other but as time slowly passes, slowly they merge. This process of merging galaxies is similar to the process that has been building the Milky Way for billions of years, and now astronomers are beginning to understand the relationship between black holes and the gravitational mass of the galaxy that revolves around it. As the galaxy grows, the mass of the supermassive black hole grows in parallel.
The two black twins are attracted to each other towards one center of gravity. In 10 to 100 million years they will unite in a spiral motion into one black hole. This collision will result in a gravitational collapse (gravitational radiation) or a space tremor.
[Translator's note: according to the theory of general relativity, in the merger of two black holes there is a release of enormous energy that causes a "space quake" - gravitational waves spreading through space-time].
Translated: Yariv Zerbiv
Source: Press release from the UCSC News Release website.
9 תגובות
good
So you agree that nothing can get from this galaxy to Earth before the light from it arrives?
In the universe all bodies are in a relative state of acceleration towards each other in space. When every single body is limited to the speed of light towards space.
When in the theory of relativity it is about the speed of a body towards the speed of light or towards space.
and not in the total speed of the two bodies in space towards each other.
To say that two bodies flying in opposite directions will pass the speed of light relative to each other is like saying that when I am standing still I am moving at the speed of light because light is moving towards me in the opposite direction.
In any case, the theory of relativity states that no body can move faster than the speed of light and no matter how fast I move relative to another body I will always measure the same speed of light.
Jonathan received correction
Two bodies flying in opposite directions at a speed of + half the speed of light.
will pass the speed of light towards each other (everything is relative)
So in practice it is possible to reach a speed almost twice the speed of light.
Just like you are traveling on a train and another train passes by from the other direction and suddenly you feel like you are flying.
Also, two bodies can fly towards each other and collide at a speed that exceeds the speed of light.
It will be interesting to see the effect :}
And think for a moment what you will see when two galaxies move in opposite directions towards each other at a speed that exceeds the speed of light. When you are on one of the galaxies.
"Idush my liver"
Shay get another correction
Nothing in the universe can move faster than the speed of light, not even gravitational waves
Shay get a fix
You mean that the image is new but as a result of our distance to those star clusters which is 300 million light years so the resulting image is of the situation 300 million years ago
A pleasant evening
Everything in our universe depends on space time
In contrast, gravitational waves change time and space in the universe
And they seem to operate simultaneously independent of time.
So the effect of gravitational waves was already absorbed in the universe at the time of the merger.
This is an old photo taken 300 million years ago
The two galaxies have long been united
The question is what is the propagation speed of the gravitational waves
And do they depend on space time.
And how do these gravitational waves affect us from this distance..?