(Image source from: sencynews.com)

The Indian researchers discovered three massive black holes in three galaxies and they are found to be merging together to form a triple active galactic nucleus. This research also revealed that small merging groups can form ideal laboratories to detect the black holes and they can also increase the possibility of detecting the rare occurrences. These supermassive black holes are very difficult to detect as they do not emit any light. They can interact with their surroundings and unveil their presence. The black holes swallow the mass when a dust or a gas falls on them. This is converted into energy and emitted as electromagnetic radiation. It is then the black hole appears very luminous.

These are called Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and release ionized particles. They contribute to the growth of the medium around the galaxy. Jyoti Yadav, Mousumi Das and Sudhanshu Barway along with a team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in association with Francoise Combes of College de France, Chaire Galaxies et Cosmologie, Paris conducted the research. The study detected galaxy pairs NGC7733, and NGC7734 and named the galaxy NGC7733N. Their study was published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, used data from the Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT). The images also supported the presence of the third galaxy.

The team also explained that if two galaxies collide, their black hole comes closer and transfers kinetic energy to the surrounding gas. The presence of a third black hole can solve the problem.

By Siva Kumar