英语翻译Black holes on a collision course Scientists say Chandra
英语翻译
Black holes on a collision course
Scientists say Chandra provides first evidence that two such mysteries can coexist in one galaxy.、
In a very bright galaxy 400 million light-years away,two black holes are drifting toward each other and in millions of years will merge with an eruption of energy and a burst of gravitational waves that could warp the very fabric of space,astronomers said Tuesday.
THE SCIENTISTS said the Chandra X-ray Observatory has found the first evidence that two immense black holes can coexist in the same galaxy and that they are moving toward each other for an eventual merger.
The double black holes were found in a bright,highly active galaxy known as NGC6240,about 400 million light-years from the Earth.
Astronomers studied NGC6240 because it produced unexplained bursts of X-rays that appeared to come from one of two nuclei at the galactic center.Images collected by radio,infrared and optical observations showed two bright spots,but did not pinpoint the origin of the X-rays.
When Chandra,with its sensitive X-ray detectors,focused on the nuclei,astronomers hoped it would tell them whether either of the two points of activity were black holes.