A study released yesterday, done by astronomers at the University, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and Bonn University, with University Astronomy Prof. Craig Sarazin as a co-author, found that two "super-massive" black holes in the universe are spiraling towards a merger, the outcome of which will be the creation of a single super-massive black hole with the capability to engulf the mass equivalent of billions of stars.
Black holes are among the oldest parts of the universe, and many scientists believe their study could hold insight into the formation of the early universe.
Sarazin described the structure of the super-massive black holes.
"At the center of every galaxy is a super-massive black hole, [which can] contain between a million and 10 billion stars' worth of material," Sarazin explained. "Looking at the distant universe, there are many black holes, and they started early in the formation of the universe," he added.
Super-massive black holes contain the mass equivalent of billions of stars and continually take in additional stars, building a remarkable gravitational pull, Astronomy Prof. Bob Rood said.
"Super-massive black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong that light cannot escape from them", Rood said.
Though black holes themselves represent a lack of mass or light emission, in the moments before a star or other space body is pulled into the black hole, it produces large amounts of both visible light and X-rays, Sarazin said. Sarazin explained the importance of using X-ray telescopes in order to observe this high energy radiation.
"We want to look at the universe in X-rays because the most violent, explosive objects in the universe make X-rays, not visible light."
The Chandra X-ray observatory, a NASA satellite, was used for the study. According to Sarazin, the satellite orbits in outer space, around the earth and reaches one-third of distance to the moon.
"Chandra is one of NASA's great observatories. It's the X-ray parallel to the Hubble," Rood said.
The discovery came out of a broad and systemic study of galaxy clusters and represented a "surprise," Sarazin said.
"The main purpose was to study clusters of galaxies ... [The discovery] was a bit of a surprise, we weren't looking at the system with this in mind, [it was] an accidental discovery," Sarazin acknowledged.
Rood remarked on the importance of these studies for boosting the University's reputation concerning scientific achievements.
"Several discoveries are made each year, approximately 10 times a year," Rood said. "They have national press ... It certainly helps for recruiting faculty."
Rood said he hopes that further scientific discoveries will promote an increasing social awareness about the field.
"I also hope that the public will be a little bit more willing to learn about science."
The complete study was released in the April 6 edition of the Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics, according to a press release.
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