Photo: Science Photo Library RF
According to astronomers, two supermassive black holes have been discovered that are 99% of the way to a violent collision that will rock the very fabric of space-time.
A study published on February 23 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters says the black holes, which share the name PKS 2131-021, are locked in a game of chicken about 9 billion light-years from Earth.
According to NASA, the two objects have been moving slowly towards each other for about 100 million years, and now they share a binary orbit, orbiting each other every two years or so.
The researchers say about 10,000 years from now, the two black holes will merge, sending gravitational waves surging across the universe.
The epic collision won't happen in our lifetime, but studying PKS 2131-021 could reveal new information about how supermassive black holes are created and what happens when they crash into each other.