Scientists have obtained images of black holes orbiting the merger. This was reported by the Chandra Center for X-ray Astronomy.
Both of these black hole pairs are located at the center of dwarf galaxies. Black holes themselves cannot be seen, but due to their strong gravity, they attract a large amount of gas to themselves and heat it, as a result of which they become noticeable at many intervals. The material surrounding black holes can heat up to millions of degrees and produce X-rays, so the Chandra X-ray orbital observatory was brought in for observation. Eventually, a possible collision will cause both black holes and galaxies to merge.
The first of these pairs is located in the Abell 133 galaxy cluster, located 760 million light-years from Earth. The other is in the galaxy cluster Abell1758S, 3.2 billion light-years away. Both pairs are typical examples of galaxies in collision. The couple in Abell 133 appear to be in the final stages of merging and have a long tail created by tidal effects. The study authors named the pair “Mirabilis” after an endangered species of hummingbird known for its extraordinarily long tails. Both galaxies got the same name because the merger between them is almost complete.
Researchers named the galaxies of the Abell 1758S cluster “Elstir” and “Vintey” in honor of the heroes of Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. Researchers believe these two galaxies were discovered in the early stages of a merger, forming a bridge of stars and gas connecting them.
The authors hope that such studies will shed light on the Milky Way’s past. Modern galaxies are believed to have formed by the merger of several dwarf galaxies.