Two Supermassive Black Holes Found Remarkably Close Together in the Early Universe

Astronomers have discovered two actively feeding supermassive black holes separated by just 175 parsecs in the distant galaxy system MG B2016+112.

Using gravitational lensing to analyze archival spectral data, researchers uncovered evidence of a compact black hole pair formed during an ancient galactic merger. Their unexpectedly different feeding rates could reveal new clues about how black holes grow and evolve in the early universe.

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