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.

A closer look at the center of a spiral galaxy reveals a pair of black holes locked in a death spiral. When they merge, a massive amount of energy is released in the form of jets.

As two super-massive black holes spiral around each other and eventually merge, they create gravitational waves.

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NASA

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