This is the first collision of asymmetrical black holes physicists have ever observed, and the event confirms another prediction of Albert Einstein.
Astrophysicists have detected gravitational waves from an unusual merger of two asymmetric black holes, i.e., black holes with two different masses.
According to gravitational wave data from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the US and the Virgo interferometer in Italy, the two black holes had an unusually large mass difference, with one being three to four times more massive than the other.
Because of this mass imbalance, the merger produced gravitational waves that spread out in the space-time fabric in multiple frequencies.
This is the first such observation physicists have ever made, and the event also confirms another prediction made by Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity — that of gravitational wave harmonics.
The event, called GW190412, was observed on 12 April, 2019 at 05:30:44 UTC.
The Advanced Virgo detector and both Advanced LIGO detectors picked up the activity in just the second week of their third observational run.
While black hole was approximately 8 solar masses, the other was around 30 solar masses. Solar mass is a unit of m