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Hundreds of Black Holes Roam Loose In Milky Way

Posted by samzenpus on from the Maximilian-and-old-bob dept.

sciencehabit writes "From Science: 'Astronomers suspect that hundreds of medium-sized black holes are roaming loose in the Milky Way. These rogues, according to a new study, are the orphaned central black holes of the many smaller galaxies that the Milky Way has swallowed over its billions of years of existence.'"

1 of 254 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Nah, I call BS by beanyk · · Score: 5, Informative

    What happens when two black holes actually intersect at their event horizons? Inquiring non-astrophysicists would like to know.

    They merge into one bigger hole. The final hole mass will be (almost) the sum of the two masses, and will likely have a significant spin, even if the pre-merger holes don't.

    Disclaimer: this is actually my area of research.