When Black Holes Collide
Video Credit & Copyright:
Simulating Extreme Spacetimes
Collaboration
What happens when two black holes collide?
This extreme scenario occurs in the centers of many merging galaxies and multiple star systems.
The featured video
shows a computer animation of the final stages of such a merger, while highlighting the
gravitational lensing
effects that would appear on a background
starfield.
The black regions indicate the
event horizons of the
dynamic duo,
while a surrounding ring of shifting background stars indicates the position of their combined
Einstein ring.
All background stars not only have
images visible outside of this
Einstein ring,
but also have one or more companion images visible on the inside.
Eventually the two
black holes
coalesce.
The end stages of such a merger is now known to produce a strong blast of
gravitational radiation, providing
a new way to
see our universe.