Black holes are the most bizarre and least understood entities in the entire universe. They are an inconceivable amount of matter packed into almost infinitely small space. As a result of these incomprehensible scales, black holes boast gravitational fields so unimaginably strong that nothing, even light, can escape. US space agency NASA is now concerned with what happens when two supermassive black holes collide.
And two planned NASA missions, Athena and LISA, will allow NASA to study these intergalactic collisions and their mysterious aftermath.
Supermassive black holes sit at the centre of most massive galaxies across the universe.
Almost nothing is known really known about how these enormously dense objects take shape, nor what causes a minority of black holes to start greedily devouring the surrounding matter at extremely intense rates.
In doing so these black holes spew a range of electromagnetic energy, transforming their host galaxies into “active galactic nuclei”.
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Understanding this phenomena is the goal of two future NASA missions: Athena, the Advanced Telescope for High-ENergy Astrophysics, and LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna.
Currently in the study phase, both NASA missions are scheduled for launch at the end of the next decade.
Professor Günther Hasinger, European Space Agency (ESA) Director of Science said: ”Athena and LISA are both outstanding missions set to make breakthroughs in many areas of astrophysics.
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“But there is one extremely exciting experiment that we could only perform if both missions are operational at the same time for at least a few years: bringing sound to the ‘cosmic movies’ by observing the merger of supermassive black holes both in X-rays and gravitational waves.
“With this unique opportunity to perform unprecedented observations of one of the most fascinating phenomena in the cosmos, the synergy between Athena and LISA would greatly increase the scientific return from both missions, ensuring European leadership in a key, novel area of research.”
Athena will be the largest X-ray observatory ever constructed, and will examine some of the hottest and most energetic phenomena in the universe with unprecedented accuracy.
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Athena will attempt to answer how supermassive black holes form and grow, and how matter and invisible dark matter form the wispy “cosmic web” pervading the universe.
Matteo Guainazzi, ESA Athena study scientist, said: “Athena is going to measure several hundreds of thousands of black holes, from relatively nearby to far away, observing the X-ray emission from the million-degree-hot matter in their surroundings.
“We are in particular interested in the most distant black holes, those that formed in the first few hundred million years of the universe’s history, and we hope we will be able to finally understand how they formed.”