According to reports, astronomers have discovered two massive black holes that are on a collision course to collide, which could cause a blast so titanic it could ‘destroy an entire galaxy’.
Using data from NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, researchers discovered that the black holes in question are so close together, they are considered the “tightest orbiting pair” detected so far.
It is claimed that the distance between them has been estimated at around one million light years away – or the diameter of our solar system.
The scary part, however, is that when they finally do merge – in a whopping one million years time – the power of the collision will measure over 100 million supernovae. Yes, that’s f*cking powerful.
It is said that black holes merging create the most violent events capable in our universe.
Using telescopes at the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey, the researchers found ‘varying signals most likely generated by the motion of two black holes’ that swing around each other every five years.
NASA reported that the holes don’t give off any light, but the surrounding material does. The brighter the light, the closer it is to Earth.
The researchers now hope the latest discovery, and the way in which it was discovered, will help others find even closer merging black holes.
Yes, space is scary.
