ALMA Scientist Find Pair of Black Holes Dining Together in Nearby Galaxy Merger

11 January, 2023 / Read time: 1 minute

Scientists using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to look deep into the heart of the pair of merging galaxies, known as UGC 4211, discovered two black holes growing side by side, just 750 light-years apart. The artist’s conception shown at the beginning and at 0:42 shows the late-stage galaxy merger and its two central black holes. 

Observing the galaxies in multiple wavelengths helped scientists to see that there was more than a merger going on between the pair.

Credits: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO); M. Weiss (NRAO/AUI/NSF)