Black holes in space can dance, Finnish university finds out 0 20

An international team of astronomers was able to observe two black holes orbiting each other in the quasar OJ 287, thanks to modern telescopes.

According to the University of Turku (Finland), researchers have captured an image of a pair of black holes orbiting around a common center of mass for the first time. Previously, scientists had only been able to obtain images of individual black holes.

In a statement from the university, it was said: "This observation confirmed the existence of pairs of black holes. Previously, astronomers could only obtain images of individual black holes."

The international group studied the quasar OJ 287, which has long attracted the attention of scientists due to its unusual brightness. According to the researchers, the presence of two black holes was suspected, but they could not be distinguished due to the insufficient power of previous telescopes.

Researcher Mauri Valtonen noted that the quasar is so bright that it can be detected even by amateur astronomers, and its uniqueness lies in the presence of two black holes orbiting each other. A quasar is an active core of a galaxy with bright emission resulting from the absorption of gas and dust by a supermassive black hole.

Meanwhile, astronomers discovered a new star V691 Serpentis in the constellation Serpens after a thermonuclear explosion on a white dwarf. Scientists recorded the largest merger of black holes in the history of observations, which occurred far beyond the Milky Way.