Doomed supermassive black hole trio spotted in ‘near-endless waltz’

Black holes are a region of space-time showing such strong gravitational acceleration nothing – even light – can escape. Now astronomers have spotted three new supermassive black holes

believed to be orbiting each other. Space scientists think this is a rare “triple system” of galaxies with a colossal black holes at their centre. Each black hole is thought to be violently

spewing gravitational waves as they circle each other. The trio, dubbed SDSS J0849+1114, is believed to be made of three holes locked in orbit. Supermassive black holes are often believed to

be at the centre of most galaxies, where they are either dormant or active. This latest black hole discovery is active, meaning they are shining brightly as they hungrily devour nearby

material. READ MORE: A JUPITER-SIZED BLACK HOLE IS RAMPAGING THROUGH THE MILKY WAY Scientists, however, remain in the dark as to the fate the three black holes face. The black hole trio

could slowly transform into a tightly-bound triple system over the next few billion years and remain in orbit indefinitely. Another option is the black holes could merge into one colossal

black hole. Or the threesome could equally end-up each being catapulted out of the system and into space. READ MORE: DOOMED SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES SPOTTED IN ‘DEATH SPIRAL’ Relatively

little is known about black holes and scientists do not understand whether black holes can merge or “become stuck in a near-endless waltz” after become located together by gravity, explained

Princeton University’s Professor Jenny Greene. The black hole study’s co-author said: “It’s a major embarrassment for astronomy that we don’t know if supermassive black holes merge. “For

everyone in black hole physics, observationally this is a long-standing puzzle that we need to solve.” Supermassive black holes can be as dense as billions of suns and most galaxies

including the galaxy have one at their centre. READ MORE: HUBBLE TELESCOPE SPOTS BLACK HOLE – 'IT SHOULDN'T EXIST' When galaxies collide, these black holes inevitably

encounter each other and begin circling. The universe’s most extreme entities then reportedly stop at approximately the distance of one parsec – equivalent to 3.2 light years. This slowdown

appears to last indefinitely and “only very rare groups of three or more supermassive black holes result in mergers,” explained Professor Greene. Space scientists now hope studying the

latest black holes discovery they can calculate if black holes really can overcome the “final parsec hurdle” and merge or are doomed to orbit each other eternally.