Astronomers Discover Heaviest Supermassive Black Hole Pair, Stalled in Collision Course

The binary system, consisting of two black holes with a combined mass of 28 billion suns, has been in a stable orbit for 3 billion years, challenging current theories of black hole mergers.

• Astronomers have identified the heaviest pair of supermassive black holes ever measured, with a combined mass 28 billion times that of the Sun, located in the galaxy B2 0402+379.
• The black holes are in a stable orbit 24 light-years apart, unable to merge due to the lack of nearby matter, a phenomenon that has persisted for 3 billion years.
• This discovery challenges existing theories on black hole mergers, highlighting the role of mass and environmental conditions in stalling such collisions.
• The binary system's stability is attributed to its massive size, which has scoured the central galaxy of stars and gas, leaving little to drive the black holes together.
• Future investigations aim to explore the core of B2 0402+379 for potential material that could influence the black holes' merger, offering new insights into the dynamics of supermassive black hole pairs.

3 Articles

Live Science Salon ScienceAlert