Scientists at the University of New Mexico (UNM) have for the first time confirmed the incredible discovery of two supermassive black holes orbiting each other. The discovery will critically help the astronomers to uncover more about the universe. The black holes form a binary system located in the center of a galaxy which is 750 million light-years far from the Earth.
The findings which were published on June 27 in the Astrophysical Journal makes the first evidence of the orbital motion involving two supermassive black holes, although the phenomenon has been theorized for several years.
According to Greg Taylor, the co-author of the study from UNM, the astronomers have for a long time been trying to search for the pair of the supermassive black holes in the space that could be orbiting due to two galaxies integration. Though it has been predicted that the incidence could be happening, no one had ever come across them until the recent discovery.
The researchers have also stated that it will take about three-four years for the team to make more discoveries on the supermassive black holes system to come up with its specific orbit. The groundbreaking invention has undertaken about 12 years and the scientists used Very Long Baseline Array (which is a series of radio telescopes developed by National Radio Astronomy Observatory) to scheme the black holes’ routes and confirmed their orbiting intervals with one another.
Their orbital period goes for about 24,000 hence it will take long before the researchers could view any twist in the orbit. The supermassive holes are significant for the better understanding of the universe. They have a great influence on the stars that surround them and the general evolution of galaxies.
The study is critical since it will unveil more data on the existence of the black holes and the galaxies that they occupy. It could also give more clues on where the Earth galaxy, known as the Milky Way is headed in the future. The study has created the urge for more discoveries in the future based on the new knowledge that has been discovered after long years of studying the galaxies.
