Black holes slingshot two billion stars episode artwork

EPISODE · May 13, 2026 · 4 MIN

Black holes slingshot two billion stars

from Intellectually Curious · host Mike Breault

JWST infrared imagery reveals a pair of merging supermassive black holes in Abell 402 BCG, totaling about 60 billion solar masses, hardening and flinging billions of stars from the galaxy's center. We unpack how binary hardening works, the tens-of-millions-of-years scouring phase, and why this is a blueprint for our Milky Way–Andromeda future. The episode also explores how the final merger could light up the galaxy's outskirts with new stars and send gravitational waves rippling through spacetime.Note:  This podcast was AI-generated, and sometimes AI can make mistakes.  Please double-check any critical information.Sponsored by Embersilk LLC

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 13, 2026

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Black holes slingshot two billion stars

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