4 billion years ago two black holes went whirling around each other with gusts of sand spiralling in sync. This rare merging of black holes was so powerful it caused a ripple in the fabric of space itself. The impact could be felt light-years away. This spectacular feat caused heat to form and a blaring blinding flare was formed. Scientists to this date debate whether the blazing light was caused by the merging of black holes or by a secondary background source. What does this mean for us exactly? Nothing really it just helps scientist better understand black holes and how the universe works.
The fastest-growing black hole dubbed J2157 eats an average of one sun a day causing its weight to 36 billion times of our sun but still making it the second-largest black hole. Abell-85 has a mass 40 billion times of our sun. J2157 is 8000 times bigger than the black hole which is at the centre on our milky way which is Sagittarius A*. Black holes can sustain a diet depending on their mass, J2517 is already so big, to begin with, which is why it can remain stable while eating one sun a day. It is estimated that every million years the black hole increases its size by 1%. Not only is this the fastest-growing black hole but also the brightest. It shines brighter than galaxies and if it were placed in the middle of our galaxy it would shine 10,000 times brighter than our moon.
Writer: Atif Agboatwala
13/07/2020
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