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How do massive black holes merge?
Jurik Peter/Shutterstock
Supermassive black holes sometimes merge, but for decades, astrophysicists didn’t know how. Now, we may finally have a solution in the form of dark matter.
After a pair of galaxies collide, their central supermassive black holes usually begin to orbit each other. Over the course of several million years, these colossal black holes gravitationally interact with any nearby matter, throwing it away. This process generates friction that gradually slows down the black holes, pushing them to spiral ever closer together.
But by the time they arrive…
