NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory have confirmed an extraordinary discovery - two supermassive black holes locked in a close orbit within a distant galaxy. The galaxy, named MCG-03-34-064, is located about 800 million light years from Earth, and these black holes are the result of a collision between two galaxies.

The Hubble Telescope, using visible-light imaging, revealed three bright spots at the center of this galaxy. Two of these spots are supermassive black holes, detected due to the strong X-ray emissions captured by the Chandra Observatory.

These black holes shine brightly because they are actively consuming surrounding matter, converting it into energy, and releasing intense radiation across space. This makes them known as active galactic nuclei (AGN).

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The distance between the two black holes, according to scientists, is about 300 light-years, which makes them the closest pair of AGNs observed using both visible light and X-rays. Their tight proximity suggests that they are in the early stages of merging, a process that will take millions of years but will eventually lead to a single, even larger black hole.

The third bright spot in the galaxy is a cloud of gas, while a striking blue streak near the black holes could be a jet of energy, likely emitted by one of the black holes as it consumes matter.

This discovery highlights the incredible power of combining Hubble's sharp visible-light images with Chandra's X-ray data, providing scientists with a unique view of black holes and galaxy mergers. Over time, the merging of these black holes will reshape the galaxy, offering astronomers valuable insight into the dynamic evolutionary process of the universe.

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(Image: NASA/ESA)