"A mammoth black hole has been discovered fleeing its host galaxy at high speed, according to a controversial new study. The galactic eviction may be the result of a violent merger between two black holes.
Most galaxies the size of our own Milky Way or larger are thought to harbour a supermassive black hole, weighing millions or billions of times as much as the Sun, at their centres. When galaxies merge, these black holes may spiral in towards one another and collide.
The mergers severely disturb the surrounding space, sending out ripples in the fabric of space called gravitational waves, according to Einstein's general theory of relativity.
Computer simulations show these waves tend to be emitted more in some directions than in others. This causes the resulting larger black hole to recoil in the opposite direction from the waves, with speeds of up to 4000 kilometres per second. In some cases, that may be enough to kick the black hole right out of the merged galaxy."
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