Merging Black Holes

  • Released Tuesday, July 3, 2007
  • Updated Tuesday, December 1, 2015 at 9:05AM
  • ID: 10140

A black hole is a massive object whose gravitational field is so intense that no light (electromagnetic radiation) can escape it. When two orbiting black holes merge, a massive amount of energy is released in the form of jets. Meanwhile, the movement of these massive bodies disturbs the fabric of space-time around them, sending ripples of gravitational waves radiating outward. These waves are predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, but have yet to be directly detected.


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NASA


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