Oct 19, 2026 · 17 min · 11 segments
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Matt O'DowdHost
Before we get to this new result, let's talk about supermassive black holes, SMBHs.

Now, we've already talked about the black holes that form in the deaths of massive stars.

The ones in the cores of galaxies contain the mass of a million to a billion suns.

Did they get most of their mass from eating gas and stars from their surrounding galaxy? Or do they mostly grow when smaller SMBHs find each other and merge during galaxy collisions? We know a lot more about the first process because we've been watching SMBHs munching on their host galaxies for half a century now.

In fact, this new observation may turn out to be a pair of supermassive black holes as close to merger as we've ever witnessed.

If so, it's incredibly important for understanding that whole aspect of black hole growth.

When gas from the surrounding galaxy falls into and feeds the central supermassive black hole, you get an active galactic nucleus, AGN.

Quasar is the term for the most powerful AGNs, and they contain SMBHs with up to billions of suns in mass.

But lower down the power scale, we have Seyfert galaxies, which typically contain a single SMBH weighing in at millions of solar masses.

Now, the purported binary black holes in this new study were found in a known Seyfert galaxy.

That means they're feeding on their surrounding galaxy and they're approaching merger.

Let's talk a bit about how these binary black holes were found, because it wasn't easy.

The Seyfert galaxy in question is Markarian 533, which is around 400 million light-years away.

In order to measure such a small separation at such a large distance, we need resolution around 100 times better than the Hubble Space Telescope.

Kabar and collaborators achieved this using a technique called very long baseline interferometry.

Before we get to this new result, let's talk about supermassive black holes, SMBHs.

Now, we've already talked about the black holes that form in the deaths of massive stars.

The ones in the cores of galaxies contain the mass of a million to a billion suns.

Did they get most of their mass from eating gas and stars from their surrounding galaxy? Or do they mostly grow when smaller SMBHs find each other and merge during galaxy collisions? We know a lot more about the first process because we've been watching SMBHs munching on their host galaxies for half a century now.

In fact, this new observation may turn out to be a pair of supermassive black holes as close to merger as we've ever witnessed.

If so, it's incredibly important for understanding that whole aspect of black hole growth.

When gas from the surrounding galaxy falls into and feeds the central supermassive black hole, you get an active galactic nucleus, AGN.

Quasar is the term for the most powerful AGNs, and they contain SMBHs with up to billions of suns in mass.

But lower down the power scale, we have Seyfert galaxies, which typically contain a single SMBH weighing in at millions of solar masses.

Now, the purported binary black holes in this new study were found in a known Seyfert galaxy.

That means they're feeding on their surrounding galaxy and they're approaching merger.

Let's talk a bit about how these binary black holes were found, because it wasn't easy.

The Seyfert galaxy in question is Markarian 533, which is around 400 million light-years away.

In order to measure such a small separation at such a large distance, we need resolution around 100 times better than the Hubble Space Telescope.

Kabar and collaborators achieved this using a technique called very long baseline interferometry.
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