Colliding Galaxies With Supermassive Black Holes [720p]

A computer visualized merger of two galaxies with central supermassive black holes. After the first encounter, they first separate again from each other, but then come together for a second encounter and subsequent coalescence. Gravity is driving gas into the centers of the galaxies and leads to the formation of extended tidal arms. As a result of the nuclear inflow, the black holes grow strongly in mass during a quasar phase. This phase lasts up to 100 million years and releases enough energy to heat the gas and to expel it into extragalactic space. At the end an elliptical galaxy remains (its stars are not shown in this video) which contains almost no residual gas and hosts at its center the merged pair of supermassive black holes.

credit: Max-Planck-Institute for Astrophysics

source: http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/gadget/

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• merging galaxies
• colliding galaxies