Witnessing the Merger of 2 Black Holes

Scientists observed the merger of two asymmetrical black holes for the first time. In an unusual event, gravitational waves of multi-frequency were emitted from this merger, proving the renowned scientist Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity correct. Summachar Coverage: Indian Scientists Pave Way For Black Hole Study

Crux of the Matter

Black Hole Merger For the first time, scientists observed the phenomenal merger of two asymmetric black holes. In past scientists have observed 10 mergers of black holes but in all cases, both were of similar or symmetric solar mass and size. But this time one black hole was 30 times bigger than the Sun, whereas the second black hole was 8 times bigger than the Sun. This event took place around 2.4 billion light-years away from the Earth, meaning that the event happened 2.4 billion years ago. The event is called “GW190412” as gravitational waves were detected on 12 April 2019 at 05:30:44 UTC.

This star’s black hole orbit has a “rosette” shape, which falls in line with Einstein’s theory of relativity, where bound orbits precess forward in a plane of motion 🌌 pic.twitter.com/LMCWH89AkM — IGN (@IGN) April 20, 2020

What Scientists Observed? The research was carried out by Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and VIRGO Observatories situated in Washington & Louisiana and Pisa respectively. Scientists are fascinated with the fact that this incident resulted in gravitational waves of multi-frequency spreading out in the space. Generally, when similar or symmetrical black holes merge, it emits gravitational frequency at a single frequency. But in the case of asymmetrical black hole mergers, multi-frequency gravitational waves were emitted, This may help scientists understand the unknown parameters of a black hole. This incident proves Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity that stated that gravitational waves are harmonic in nature.

Curiopedia

1. Last year, for the first time images of a black hole were taken. The stunning image shows the shadow of the supermassive black hole in the center of Messier 87 (M87), an elliptical galaxy some 55 million light-years from Earth. This black hole is 6.5 billion times the mass of the Sun.

2. The mathematics behind a black hole came from Albert Einstein’s 1915 General Theory of Relativity. And the phenomenon got its name “black hole” in the 1960s.

3. The Black Hole of Calcutta was a dungeon in Fort William, Calcutta in which troops of Siraj ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, held British prisoners of war. This dungeon was the main inspiration behind the etymology of the word Black Hole by physicist Hong-Yee Chiu.

Curated Coverage

1. Print – Massive black hole collides with much smaller one, creates unique space event

2. Big Think – Astrophysicists discover exotic merger of black holes

3. Forbes – When A Large Black Hole Merges With A Small One, The Limits Of General Relativity Are Tested

4. Somag News – For the First Time, Merger of Two Different Black Holes Observed

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