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A Galaxy With Twin Black Holes

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Department: 
The Cosmos
Teaser: 

"The galaxy Markarian 739 has not one, but two ginormous black holes in its core."

Link: 

Monster Black Hole Twins Found Inside Galaxy's Belly

Source: 

SPACE.com Download time: Jun 11 2011 10:04 AM ET

A galaxy already known to have one ginormous black hole at its core is actually home to two of these cosmic giants, a new study reveals.

Astronomers discovered the second monster black hole at the center of the galaxy Markarian 739, which is about 425 million light-years from Earth, toward the constellation Leo. Its presence was revealed in observations by NASA's Swift satellite and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

The two black holes are separated by about 11,000 light years, which is about one-third the distance between our solar system and the center of the Milky Way. One light-year is about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers).…

See SPACE.com for links to further info.

Also see Universe Today and ScienceDaily.com.