By Length
Full (4-12 min)
Short (1-4 min)
By Date
2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017
2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009
2008 | 2007 | 2006
By Category
Solar System
Stars
White Dwarfs
Supernovas
Neutron Stars
Black Holes
Milky Way Galaxy
Normal Galaxies
Quasars
Groups of Galaxies
Cosmology/Deep Field
Miscellaneous
HTE
STOP
Space Scoop for Kids!
Chandra Sketches
Light
AstrOlympics
Quick Look
Visual Descriptions
Subscribe
How To
RSS Reader
Audio-only format podcast
Web Shortcuts
Chandra Blog
RSS Feed
Chronicle
Email Newsletter
News & Noteworthy
Image Use Policy
Questions & Answers
Glossary of Terms
Download Guide
Get Adobe Reader


A Tour of Dual Black Holes

View/Listen
Narrator (April Jubett, CXC): Astronomers have found evidence for five dual supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies, each containing millions of times the mass of the Sun. These black hole couples formed when two galaxies collided and merged with each other, forcing their supermassive black holes close together.

Before this study fewer than ten confirmed pairs of growing black holes were known from X-ray studies, based mostly on chance detections. To carry out a systematic search, a team of researchers had to carefully sift through data from telescopes that detect different wavelengths of light.

After first identified promising candidates in optical and infrared data, the researchers then used data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to confirm the presence of five merging supermassive black holes in different galaxies. This work shows the effectiveness of X-ray data to help find such black hole pairs. This discovery could help scientists better understand how giant black holes grow and how they may produce the strongest gravitational wave signals in the Universe.

Return to Podcasts