Can Black Hole Mergers Emit Light?

SCIENCE

By Aniket Chakraborty May 30, 2025 Arrow

But now, gravitational waves are shaking up our understanding of the cosmos.

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What if black hole mergers — the most violent events in space — emit light too?

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IIT Bombay researchers are teaming up with AstroSat to answer that exact question.

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Using the CZTI detector onboard India’s AstroSat, they scanned 70 gravitational wave events.

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These included black hole-black hole and neutron star-black hole collisions across the sky.

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No X-rays were found — but that’s not a failure, it’s a breakthrough.

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The non-detections help scientists set limits on how bright such emissions could possibly be.

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These findings challenge current models and may hint at new physics hiding in plain sight.

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As LIGO-India and the Daksha mission prepare to launch, India is set to lead the next big space race.

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