Black holes wobbling three times a second have proved Einstein right

Alex Wilkins is a writer.

A pair of black holes have been seen wobbling at a rate of three times per second as they merged in an extreme example of a prediction made by Albert Einstein.

When the rotation of an object slowly changes with time, it's known as precession and is a common example. Heavy objects that bend space-time can see their shape change over time.

The effect was so subtle that it only took a few times a year for it to be noticed.

A pair of black holes were caused by one spinning at a fifth of the speed of light at a 90- degree angle to its orbital motion. The black holes released a wave that carried the signature of precession at a rate of 3 times a second.

The most extreme regime of Einstein's theory is where space and time are warped and distorted in completely crazy ways.

In order to identify the precession, the team reanalyzed the data collected in 2020. A previous analysis revealed no precession, but using a more advanced model to account for sources of noise in the data, he and his team found that the best way to explain the signal was with one of the black holes.

The implications of the detection are significant according to the person who wasn't involved with it. He says that current ideas of black hole formation involve imploding stars and need another explanation.

There is a journal reference called Nature.

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