Scientists Baffled by Galactic Discovery

[Tuckerfan]

It shouldn’t exist, but it does.

A picture-perfect spiral galaxy may harbour two colossal black holes instead of the usual one, new observations suggest. But if it does, astronomers are mystified as to how the second black hole got there without ruining the galaxy’s spiral structure.

Most galaxies are thought to contain a single large black hole with a mass proportional to that of its galaxy. But galaxies grow through collisions, and astronomers believe their black holes also merge over time.

Two galaxies appear to contain pairs of black holes. These galaxies emit telltale X-rays when superhot matter falls towards the massive objects.

But now a trio of astronomers, led by Damián Mast of Argentina’s National University of Cordoba, says there may be two black holes inside the galaxy M83, which lies about 15 million light years away - even though it does not emit these X-rays.

I wonder what Hawking will make of this?