Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Space
Space
Science
Robert Lea

2 merging supermassive black holes spotted at 'cosmic noon' in early universe

This artist's impression shows a closely bound duo of energetic quasars — the hallmark of a pair of merging galaxies — seen when the universe was only three billion years old. (Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani, J. da Silva)

Astronomers have spotted two quasars lighting up the mutual heart of colliding galaxies at a period in the universe's early history dubbed "cosmic noon." 

The energetic quasars, or active galactic nuclei (AGNs), are powered by feeding supermassive black holes and are seen as they were just three billion years after the Big Bang, during a period of intense galactic growth and star formation, a new study reports.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.