Tracking the runaway black hole of galaxy 3C 186

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:ZooniverseUMBC’s Eileen Meyer and team find strongest evidence yet of a black hole zooming away from its galaxy’s centerNOEMA observations support a recoiling black hole in 3C 186 Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472