Scientists 'hear' shock waves from colliding black holes for first time
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Scientists have picked up shock waves from the merging of two supermassive black holes
Scientists have picked up shock waves from the merging of two supermassive black holes in space.
It's thought this could be the first direct evidence of these space ripples, which are also known as gravitational waves, existing.
Astronomers say they were able to detect the low-frequency ripples created by the gravitational waves for the first time after years of research.
The waves were observed using some of the world's largest radio telescopes, including the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire.
The observations were made by studying signals from dead stars, which are known as pulsars. These rotate and send out bursts of radio signals at very precise times.
However, through their observations, astronomers found these signals are reaching Earth ever so slightly faster or slower than they should be.
Gravitational waves are created when black holes or other large space objects spiral around each other, sending out invisible ripples.
They believe this is down gravitational waves, created by supermassive black holes coming together across the universe, distorting time in the process.
These distortions are happening all the time, all across the universe and for a long time, astronomers have believed this is how galaxies grow.
The latest findings are the first direct evidence of this process actually happening.
The Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank was used to make observations
Oregon State University astrophysicist Xavier Siemens, who led the research, explained the importance of the project.
"By measuring the signal that these super massive black binaries are producing, we can infer what the history is of mergers of galaxies in the universe. How often do galaxies merge, how big are they, how big are the black holes that live inside those galaxies and we can infer how structures assembled in the universe through cosmic time."
It's thought the research could also reveal many more mysteries about space.
"It could tell us if Einstein's theory of gravity is wrong; it may tell us about what dark matter and dark energy, the mysterious stuff that makes up the bulk of the Universe, really is; and it could give us a new window into new theories of physics," Prof Michael Kramer of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn told the 成人快手.
Future studies may provide some new information about the role supermassive black holes play in the evolution of all galaxies.
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