ⓘ NASA – Unsplash
An image showing a spiral galaxy.
With the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole located in an unusual region of its galaxy. And to explain this phenomenon, a hypothesis has been put forward.
For more than 30 years, astronomers have been observing and studying the elliptical galaxy NGC 4486B. But further observations revealed a supermassive black hole with a mass of about 360 million times that of the Sun, located in an unusual region. Indeed, in most galaxies, supermassive black holes are located at the center. However, in NGC 4486B, it is located about 19.5 light-years from the center.
To explain this situation, astronomers studied this galaxy located in the Virgo Cluster, with the help of the James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec). And according to the results obtained, this phenomenon could have been caused by a merger between two black holes.
ⓘ arXiv
An image showing the double nucleus in NGC 4486B.
Thus, according to estimates, these two black holes have recently merged. This collision was powerful and generated an immense amount of energy. And as Behzad Tahmasebzadeh explains, this discovery seems to be unique:
“NGC 4486B appears to be the first system exhibiting multiple observable signatures of a recent SMBH merger.”
However, astronomers have also made another discovery. Indeed, this black hole is expected to return to the center of its galaxy in about 30 million years. As a result, it will be necessary to study this galaxy in the future to better understand this type of phenomenon and unravel certain mysteries.
Alexis Stegmann – Tech Writer – 595 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2025
I’ve been working in the field of web writing for several years, and I’m passionate about keeping readers up to date with the latest news on astronomy, technology, the world of video games and other exciting subjects. In particular, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of websites, which has enabled me to cover a wide range of subjects. In my personal life, I’m passionate about a wide range of subjects, including astronomy, video games, history and science. I’m also drawn to psychology, which is a subject that deserves greater documentation and recognition.