Imagine a moment that shatters previous beliefs about the cosmos—this marks the astonishing first image capturing two black holes orbiting each other! Astronomers have achieved a remarkable milestone by obtaining a radio image that substantiates a long-standing hypothesis that has puzzled scientists for many years.
This groundbreaking image unveils a pair of supermassive black holes engaged in a mesmerizing cosmic ballet within a luminous quasar known as OJ287. Located roughly 5 billion light-years away in the constellation Cancer, this quasar is a product of the extreme and tumultuous conditions surrounding supermassive black holes, where gas and dust become intensely heated, resulting in a brilliant glow.
Researchers claim that this latest revelation is the strongest proof thus far confirming the existence of binary black holes—imposing gravitational entities bound in a dance of mutual attraction. "Quasar OJ287 is so luminous that even amateur astronomers with personal telescopes can observe it,” stated Mauri Valtonen, the lead author of the study and an astronomer at the University of Turku in Finland.
Quasars are recognized as some of the brightest objects in the universe, and while astronomers have managed to capture images of isolated black holes—such as the one lurking in our own Milky Way and another located in the Messier 87 galaxy—this instance marks the first time we have visual evidence of two black holes in orbit around one another.
Previously, indirect evidence for black hole pairs has arisen through gravitational wave detections, hinting at their eventual collisions. However, the two black holes within OJ287 had eluded visual resolution until now; telescope technology simply did not possess the necessary sharpness to differentiate them from a singular point of light.
OJ287 has fascinated astronomers for over 100 years, with early photographic observations dating back to the late 1800s, long before the concept of black holes and quasars was even on anyone’s radar. Interest surged in 1982 when Finnish astronomer Aimo Sillanpää discovered a pattern in its brightness fluctuating in a regular 12-year cycle, suggesting the presence of two black holes spiraling around each other, both gobbling material from their surroundings. Since then, a multitude of astronomers has closely monitored OJ287, aiming to provide solid evidence that confirms these two black holes share a common cosmic center.
Now, the anticipated proof arrives through an impressive collaboration of radio observations from ground-based telescopes and the RadioAstron (Spektr-R) satellite—a Russian radio telescope that functioned between 2011 and 2019. Its unique orbit extended halfway to the moon, allowing astronomers to achieve an image resolution approximately 100,000 times sharper than typical optical images.
Upon comparing the new radio images with earlier theoretical models, the researchers noted, "the two black holes appeared exactly where expected in the image.”
Although the black holes themselves are entirely black, their presence is detectable via the particle jets or the luminous gas encircling them. Valtonen noted that the image also illustrated a jet from the smaller black hole that resembled a “twisted garden hose,” a fascinating result of its rapid trajectory around the larger black hole. As the smaller black hole continues on its 12-year orbit, the jet will exhibit a wagging motion akin to a cosmic tail, granting a rare glimpse into their dynamic interaction over time.
The findings from this remarkable study have been documented in an article published on October 9 in the Astrophysical Journal.
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