London, Oct 17 : Astronomers have found two very different galaxies in the distant Universe involved in a spectacular collision, which reveal that colossal black holes were common in the early Universe.
New observations made with the Submillimeter Array of telescopes in Hawaii suggest that black holes that were thought to exist in many, if not all, galaxies, were common even in the early Universe, when galaxies were just beginning to form.
4C60.07 – the first of the galaxies to be discovered – came to astronomers’ attention because of its bright radio emission.
This radio signature is one telltale sign of a quasar – a black hole, spinning rapidly, feeding on its parent galaxy.