(Image Source: Chandra Observatory)
 
BY MATT PICHT
NASA scientists announced Sunday they've discovered
a whopping 26 new black holes in the neighboring
galaxy of Andromeda.
 Researchers used 150 observations collected
over 13 years by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory
to discover the black holes.
The 26 new black holes join the 9 already
found in the Andromeda galaxy to bump the
total up to 35.
 This discovery marks the largest collection
of black holes ever identified outside of
our own galaxy.
But how did researchers discover them in the
first place?
 Spotting a massive rift in space-time is
more difficult than you might think.
Nothing can escape the pull of a black hole,
not even light — which makes finding black
holes a bit of a challenge.
(Via NASA)
 To find Andromeda's black holes, researchers
looked at X-ray patterns from nearby companion
stars.
As the black hole draws in matter from these
stars, it leaves a visible distortion in the
X-ray field which scientists can measure.
(Via Youtube / VideoFromSpace)
 The technique is useful, but it's only
able to spot black holes that have a nearby
companion star.
According to lead researcher Robin Barnard,
Andromeda could have many more black holes
lurking undetected.
 "While we are excited to find so many black
holes in Andromeda, we think it's just the
tip of the iceberg.
Most black holes won't have close companions
and will be invisible to us."
(Via NASA) 
The full results of the study are available
online, and will be published in the June
20 issue of The Astrophysical Journal.
