Galaxy 0402+379

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0402+379
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Perseus
Right ascension	04h 05m 49.2s[1]
Declination	+38° 03′ 32″[1]
Redshift	16,500 ± 300 km/s[1]
Distance	750 Mly (230 Mpc) [2]
Type	Sy[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	17.2[1]
Other designations
4C +37.11[1]
See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies

Galaxy 0402+379 is a radio galaxy and elliptical galaxy with the binary supermassive black holes with the least separation of any directly observed binaries, as of 2006. The separation between the two is 24 light-years or 7.3 parsecs, with an orbital period of 150,000 years.

The previous directly observed least separation of supermassive binary black holes was 2,400 light-years. However quasar OJ 287 is inferred to have a binary supermassive black hole pair with an orbital period of 12 years, and thus be much closer together, however, they have not been directly observed.

The eventual collision of the pair would result in strong gravitational waves.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Results for 0402+379. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
2. ^ Scientists Find Closest Pair of Supermassive Black Holes. PhysOrg.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.

• VLBA Reveals Closest Pair of Supermassive Black Holes (UNM Today) May 02, 2006
• A Compact Supermassive Black-Hole Binary System (Los Alamos National Laborator - LANL)

[edit] External links

• Black Hole Pair Sets Proximity Record (SPACE.com) 01 May 2006 02:04 pm ET
• Two black holes come oh-so-close (MSNBC) 5:23 p.m. ET May 1, 2006
• Colossal black holes seen in closest clinch yet (New Scientist) 16:02 21 April 2006
• A Supermassive Black Hole Pairing (Centauri Dreams)
• Scientists Find Closest Pair of Supermassive Black Holes (PhysOrg.com) May 01, 2006
• VLBA Reveals Closest Pair of Supermassive Black Holes (SpaceRef.com) Monday, May 1, 2006
• Closest-spaced giant black hole pair found (SpaceFlight Now) May 1, 2006