Thread by @weatherindia

Astronomers Spot Six Galaxies Trapped Around Supermassive #BlackHole in Spider Web-Like Structure - by @MrigDixit

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(📸: ESO/L. Calçada)

Nothing can escape the powerful cosmic monster black holes—not even light—due to its strong gravitational pull that attracts nearly everything around the region.

#BlackHole

But for the first time, astronomers have spotted six galaxies trapped around a supermassive black hole, appearing to form a spider web-like structure.

#BlackHole

As per the latest study, this is the first time galaxies have been found tucked so close to each other around a supermassive black hole.

#BlackHole

These types of black holes are regarded to be the largest in terms of mass, and can be millions of times more massive than the Sun. In fact, the newly discovered supermassive black hole holds a mass of nearly a billion Suns.

#BlackHole

The study indicates that all the 6 galaxies were found trapped due to a cosmic web-like structure fueled through gas which, in turn, also feeds the black hole and makes it more massive. Together, the trapped galaxies stretch up to 300 times greater than the size of our #MilkyWay

This entanglement of galaxies is located about 0.9 billion light-years away from the Earth, and its discovery was made possible through the help of European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) based in Chile.

#BlackHole

How did the web-like structure form around the #BlackHole?

This black hole is said to be one of the first ones to have been formed from the collapse of the first stars during the early years of the universe.

It came into existence when the universe was only 0.9 billion years old, and in this short time, it gained the masses of a billion Suns. Precisely how it expanded to become supermassive was quite puzzling for the researchers to figure out.

#BlackHole

Giant halos form large regions of invisible matter, which is believed to have attracted huge amounts of gas in the early universe.

#BlackHole

Therefore, these two—the gas and the invisible dark matter—could very well have combined to form the web-like structures where both the galaxies and black holes could evolve.

#BlackHole

The researchers believe that the discovered galaxies may just be the tip of the iceberg. The galaxies around the black hole are extremely bright, and therefore, more such clusters could very well be around, scientists believe.

#BlackHole

Through these findings and further research on the subject, humankind could better its understanding of enigmatic black holes, which can store tonnes of matter and swell into enormous sizes.

In addition, they can also shed light on the black hole found at the centre of our #MilkyWayGalaxy.