NASA has released a stunning image of three black holes about to collide with each other.

The ultra-rare is the best evidence yet of a so-called "triple system" three active supermassive black holes smashing in to each other.

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Each of the black holes is at the centre of its own galaxy.

They're all merging together roughly one billion light years from Earth.

It's not uncommon to find two black holes joining together, but spotting three is a rare feat.

In this case, astronomers using Nasa technology spotted the triple system by accident.

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"We were only looking for pairs of black holes at the time," said Ryan Pfeifle, of George Mason University, who led the study.

"And yet, through our selection technique, we stumbled upon this amazing system.

"This is the strongest evidence yet found for such a triple system of actively feeding supermassive black holes."

Researchers didn't take a straight photo of the black holes.

Instead, multiple observations using several different scientific instruments were used to piece together the galactic smash-up.

New Mexico's Sloan Digital Sky Survey first imaged the system in optical light.

Then Nasa's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer spacecraft examined infrared light coming from the system.

And then researchers used X-ray observations to confirm the presence of gas and dust being consumed.

That's a sign that black holes are feeding, effectively confirming their existence.

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"Through the use of these major observatories, we have identified a new way of identifying triple supermassive black holes," explained Pfeifle.

"Each telescope gives us a different clue about what's going on in these systems.

"We hope to extend our work to find more triples using the same technique."

Each supermassive hole is roughly 10,000 to 30,000 light years apart, which is tiny as far as space goes.

And their locations mean their eventual merging is inevitable a cataclysmic event that will transform the entire region of space.

Earlier this year, astronomers spotted an "impossible" black hole that breaks the "current theory of our universe".

The huge black hole at the centre of our galaxy was caught mysteriously "glowing" in an eerie video.

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And in April, scientists unveiled the first-ever photo of a black hole.

What do you make of this mind-blowing image? Let us know in the comments!

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Stunning Nasa photo reveals three black holes smashing into each other in rare cataclysmic collision - The Sun