Message #237911

[Raychel]

Black Hole Cannibal

Image courtesy CXC/SAO/STScI/NASA

Deep in the dark heart of the galaxy NGC 3393, two monsters are eating each other in an epic clash of the titans.

In August scientists with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory released this composite image of the spiral galaxy that shows not one but two supermassive black holes in its middle, separated by just 490 light-years.

Astronomers think NGC 3393 must have consumed a less massive galaxy that had a black hole of its own, and the two supermassive beasts are now battling it out until just one central black hole remains. (Also see "Black Hole Caught Eating a Star, Gamma-Ray Flash Hints.")

Published October 27, 2011