A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away … galaxy 3C 186, to be precise … two black holes merged, creating one supermassive black hole and propelling it at great speed away from the galaxy’s center. 

Eileen Meyer, an associate professor of physics at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, explains how this observation bolsters theories about how galaxies and black holes behave, "Galaxies tend to be born kind of in close family groups and they’re so massive, with billions of stars, that they start sliding towards each other."

We ask Meyer about this runaway black hole and how citizen-scientists can get involved in astronomical research.

Learn more:
Zooniverse
UMBC’s Eileen Meyer and team find strongest evidence yet of a black hole zooming away from its galaxy’s center
NOEMA observations support a recoiling black hole in 3C 186 

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