AI Generated Image
Telescope Spots Two Black Holes on the Cusp of Merging
The New York Times • • general
Key Points:
- Astronomers have discovered a young galaxy containing three active supermassive black holes, marking the first evidence of such a triplet so far from Earth, over 12.5 billion light-years away.
- Two of the black holes are extremely close to each other, appearing to be on the verge of merging, providing a rare glimpse into black hole growth in the early universe.
- This discovery supports the theory that black holes have been growing by consuming stars and gas since shortly after the Big Bang, roughly one billion years into the universe's history.
- The finding was made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope, whose advanced sensitivity and ability to analyze distant cosmic light surpass the capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope.
