Researchers Have Found The Strongest Evidence Yet Of A Black Hole In Motion

Astronomers have long theorized that supermassive black holes could travel through space but finding data to support that theory has been difficult. Researchers from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian have identified the clearest indication yet of a supermassive black hole in motion. The researchers say that it isn't expected for most supermassive black holes to be moving; they typically remain stationary.

Supermassive black holes are so heavy it's hard to get them to move. Researcher Dominic Pesce and his team have been working to observe a moving supermassive black hole for the last five years by comparing the velocities of the black holes and galaxies. The team aimed to determine if the velocities of the black holes were the same as the velocities of the galaxies they lived in.

The expectation is for the black hole and the galaxy to have the same velocity. If the velocities differed, that would imply the black hole had been disturbed. During the research, the team initially surveyed ten distant galaxies and the supermassive black holes in the cores of the galaxies. Specifically, the team focused on black holes that contain water within their accretion discs. When water orbits around the black hole, it produces a laser-like beam of radio light known as a maser.

The team used a technique known as very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) using a network of radio antennas to measure the blackhole velocity very precisely. With that technique, the team determined that 9 out of ten supermassive black holes were at rest, but one seems to be in motion. That particular blackhole was 230 million light-years away from Earth at the center of a galaxy called J0437+2456.

The black hole has a mass about 3 million times that of the Sun. Follow-up observations were conducted using the Arecibo and Gemini Observatories to confirm the initial findings. The supermassive black hole is moving at a speed of about 110,000 miles per hour inside the galaxy. Exactly what's causing the motion is unknown, but the team believes motion could result from two supermassive black holes merging, or the black hole may be part of a binary system.