Double Black Hole Doorbuster! Astronomers using our Hubble Space Telescope have found that Markarian 231, the nearest galaxy to Earth that hosts a quasar, is powered by two central black holes furiously whirling about each other. Like a pair of whirling skaters, the black-hole duo generates tremendous amounts of energy that makes the core of the host galaxy outshine the glow of its population of billions of stars, which scientists then identify as quasars. Today is our third annual #BlackHoleFriday, where we're posting pics & info about black holes on #BlackFriday. Credits: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI) #blackhole #blackholes #NASA #Space by nasa

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1OvEtru