Binary black hole

A binary black hole (BBH), or black hole binary, is an astronomical object consisting of two black holes in close orbit around each other. Like black holes themselves, binary black hole systems are classified as either stellar-mass—involving remnants of high-mass binary star systems or formed by dynamic processes and mutual capture—or supermassive, black hole systems believed to arise from galactic mergers.

The existence of stellar-mass binary black holes was directly confirmed by gravitational wave observation in September 2015. Supermassive binary black hole candidates have been proposed based on indirect evidence, but await observational confirmation.

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