Astronomers have found evidence that a single galaxy observed just 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang contains three actively feeding black holes, according to a report from Space Daily. The finding, published in a new paper, marks a rare glimpse of multiple supermassive black holes operating within the same galaxy in the early universe.
The two black holes closest to the galaxy’s center are close enough that they are expected to spiral together within roughly 700 million years, Space Daily reports. The paper describing the discovery stops short of confirming the scenario outright, instead describing the observation as evidence rather than a definitive detection.
The galaxy, seen at a time when the universe was still in its infancy, offers a snapshot of a chaotic period when galaxies and their central black holes were still assembling. According to Space Daily, the presence of three feeding black holes in one galaxy suggests that mergers between galaxies and their black holes were more common in the early universe than previously assumed.
The two innermost black holes, if they do merge, would produce a powerful burst of gravitational waves — a signal that future observatories may be able to detect. The third black hole, located farther from the center, adds to the complexity of the system and raises questions about how such a configuration formed.
Astronomers are now watching this system closely. The next step, Space Daily notes, will be to confirm whether the two central black holes are truly bound to each other and to refine estimates of when their merger might occur. If confirmed, the system would provide a rare laboratory for studying how supermassive black holes grow and merge in the early universe.
