The countdown has begun. Humanity will see the merger of two black holes and a powerful flash in space in the next three years

Chinese and Canadian scientists are predicting a massive flare in space that humanity will be able to witness. This phenomenon will take place in the next three years and will be due to the merger of two black holes located in another galaxy.

The process of connection of supermassive black holes, which are also called active galactic nuclei, is certainly a unique event. If the course of events modeled by specialists from China and Canada turns out to be correct, then in the near future, the Earth’s population will be able to observe a striking phenomenon.

Astronomers note that the SDSSJ1430 + 2303 galaxy in question is located quite close by space standards, it has an active core, and more than one. Scientists measured the radiation spectrum emanating from the central part of the galaxy, and came to the conclusion that there are now two merging black holes.

Over the past three years, the optical brightness of the galaxy SDSSJ1430 + 2303 has been changing, while the periods between outbursts have become shorter and shorter. In general, over three years, the periodicity has decreased from twelve months to one, such a phenomenon in active galactic nuclei was observed for the first time.

Scientists believe that one black hole is large, and the second, much less massive, moves in a highly elongated inclined orbit. If so, then the SDSSJ1430 + 2303 was formed in the process of merging companion galaxies more than a billion years ago. The close pair of black holes at the center is the only observable trace of that distant event. 

Judging by their activity in recent years, a clash is not far off. Modeling shows that there are one hundred to three hundred days left to wait, a maximum of three years.

Galaxies that have two active nuclei are called Seyfert. Such cosmic bodies are located closer to the Earth than quasars, so it is easier for scientists to study them.

Flash in all its glory

The collision of supermassive black holes in SDSSJ1430 + 2303 will generate a powerful flash accompanied by low frequency gravitational waves. Their existence was confirmed in 2015 with the LIGO detector, picking up a signal from the merger of two relatively small objects — dozens of solar masses. But the event in question (if, of course, the prediction is correct) is beyond the sensitivity of this attitude.

The merger of large-scale black holes in SDSSJ1430 + 2303 will turn into a strong outbreak that will not pass without notice. Our planet will have to face a serious release of electromagnetic waves of different ranges, astronomers warn.