Nearly every massive galaxy observed hosts a supermassive black hole at its center. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has discovered that some of these supermassive black holes may even be too big for the galaxy they’re found in, challenging astronomers’ understanding of these objects and prompting questions about their growth in the early universe. Astronomers are still investigating many key questions about these mysterious and powerful objects, and studying them can help researchers understand how galaxies form and grow.I’m an astronomer who studies supermassive black holes in other galaxies. These fascinating astronomical objects can tell researchers about how matter gets consumed or expelled from the center of the galaxy and how that may affect other processes in the galaxy.[embedded content]What are supermassive black holes?Supermassive black holes are the largest class of black holes.AdvertisementAdvertisementBlack holes are regions in space in which gravity has become such a predominant force that nothing, not even light, can escape. These black holes range from hundreds of thousands to millions or billions of times more massive than our Sun.Studies suggest that nearly every massive galaxy astronomers have observed has a supermassive black hole at the center. However, galaxies are so large that these black holes occupy only a small part, and they’re outweighed by gas, dust and stars.A supermassive black hole is enclosed by its event horizon, or the point of no return. Any object that crosses the horizon would have to be traveling faster than the speed of light to escape the black hole, which is not physically possible.If you were to place the supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy, named Sagittarius A*, where the Sun would be, its event horizon and surrounding gas would fit within the orbit of Mercury. However, for a more massive supermassive black hole, such as M87*, the entirety of the solar system would fit within the event horizon.The only two images taken of black holes as of 2026, captured in millimeter wavelengths. On the left is the supermassive black hole M87*, located at the center of the galaxy Messier 87, with a drawing overlaying the o …
