Astrophysical object
Supermassive Black Hole
Cosmology & UniverseEstablished Science
Definition
A black hole of millions to billions of solar masses, found at the centre of most large galaxies.
Scientific overview
Nearly every massive galaxy hosts a supermassive black hole at its core, including Sagittarius A* (about 4 million solar masses) in the Milky Way and M87* (about 6.5 billion solar masses). How they grew so large so early is an open question.
Measurements
| Sagittarius A* mass | ≈ 4.3 million M☉ | ESO |
| M87* mass | ≈ 6.5 billion M☉ | Event Horizon Telescope |
Open questions
- How did supermassive black holes grow so quickly in the early Universe?
Rests on
Related discoveries & objects
Related scientists
Related topics
Knowledge connections
- Related toThe Event Horizon
- Depends onThe Event Horizon
- Related toBlack Hole
- Related toQuasar
- Related toActive Galactic Nucleus
- Related toThe Milky Way's Central Black Hole
- Related toThe First Image of a Black Hole
- Studied byReinhard Genzel
- Studied byAndrea Ghez
- Related toSagittarius A*
- Related toM87*
- Related toIntermediate-Mass Black Hole
- Related toQuasar
- Related toBlazar
- Related toActive Galactic Nucleus
- Associated withSeyfert Galaxy
- Associated withRadio Galaxy
- Associated withThe Unified AGN Model
- Associated withBlack-Hole Feedback
Sources & references
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- Event Horizon TelescopeEvent Horizon Telescope Collaboration
Horizon-scale images of supermassive black holes (M87*, Sagittarius A*).
- ESOEuropean Southern Observatory
Southern-hemisphere observatory data and imagery (VLT, ALMA partner).
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.