NASA scientists have uncovered a pair of “monster” black holes exhibiting unusual interactions with a surrounding cloud of gas in the core of a galaxy.
An artistic impression showcases two massive black holes orbiting within a gas cloud, depicting the event known as AT 2021hdr. This image, provided by NASA in collaboration with Aurore Simonnet from Sonoma State University, offers a glimpse into the dynamic cosmic event.
A Strange New Phenomenon in the Universe
These two colossal black holes were recently identified, with Lorena Hernández-García, an astrophysicist at the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics, describing it as a “very weird event.” According to Hernández-García, this discovery marks the first known instance of such an interaction, involving a “disruption” of a gas cloud by the monstrous black holes situated about one billion light-years from Earth, near the Cygnus constellation at the northern boundary of the Milky Way.
The Incredible Scale of the Discovery
The combined mass of these black holes is estimated to be around 40 million times that of our Sun. Separated by a distance of approximately 16 billion miles, it takes light a full day to travel between them. NASA predicts that these black holes will eventually collide and merge in about 70,000 years, forming an even larger black hole.
Published Findings and Observations
Hernández-García and her team released their findings on November 13, detailing the unusual interactions between the black holes and the gas cloud. She explained:
“It’s a very weird event, called AT 2021hdr, that keeps recurring every few months.”
[Gas cloud encountering two supermassive black holes](Image: F. Goicovic et al. 2016)
A Closer Look at the Mysterious Phenomenon
According to Hernández-García, a massive gas cloud appears to have engulfed both black holes. As these black holes orbit one another, their gravitational pull disrupts and consumes the gas, leading to an oscillating light pattern observed from this system.
The phenomenon was initially spotted by California-based scientists in 2021 and was mistakenly thought to be a supernova. However, after more extensive monitoring using NASA’s Swift Observatory satellite in late 2022, Hernández-García’s team noticed unusual ultraviolet oscillations.
Unveiling the Truth with a Methodical Approach
Using a careful process of elimination, the team ruled out various potential explanations, such as the destruction of a star. Ultimately, they concluded that a large gas cloud, much larger than the black holes themselves, was being repeatedly disrupted by the gravitational forces of the two black holes.
This groundbreaking discovery opens a new window into understanding the behavior of supermassive black holes and their interactions with surrounding matter, offering deeper insights into the dynamics of galaxies far beyond our own.
