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Supermassive black holes are found at the center of many galaxies, including the Milky Way. Our galaxy’s black hole, Sagittarius A*, is suspected to contain 3.7 million solar masses. Active galaxies, such as quasars and blazars, can release energy equivalent to hundreds of galaxies combined. At least 30 supermassive black holes have been observed in other galaxies. The location of intermediate-mass black holes remains an unsolved problem in astrophysics.
Supermassive black holes are gravitational features located at the centers of many galaxies, including the Milky Way. Supermassive black holes can be thought of as the galactic sun: in the same way that the planets of the solar system orbit the sun, the 200-400 billion solar systems of the Milky Way orbit the central black hole. Supermassive black holes contain between 105 and 1010 (hundreds of thousands and tens of billions) solar masses.
Our galaxy’s supermassive black hole is suspected to be an internally compact object called Sagittarius A*, containing 3.7 million solar masses in a volume with a radius no larger than 6.25 light-hours (45 AU) or about 4.2 billion solar masses. miles. By comparison, Pluto orbits the Sun at 5.51 light-hours or 3.7 billion miles.
In theory, it is possible that the Sagittarius A* region contains more than one supermassive black hole. If so, they will come together to form one object in less than 100 years. Around 2015-2025, astronomical interferometry technology will make it possible to directly view the event horizon of Sagittarius A*.
In very distant galaxies, astronomers observe the birth process of supermassive black holes. These galaxies are called active galaxies and can release energy equivalent to hundreds of average galaxies combined, with the brightness of a trillion suns. Quasars are a type of active galaxy and are among the most distant objects astronomers can detect. Another is blazars, which are among the most violent phenomena in the universe, converting the mass of 100 suns into a relativistic radiation beam every year.
At least 30 suspected supermassive black holes have been observed in galaxies other than the Milky Way. Supermassive black holes are part of an unsolved problem in astrophysics: where are intermediate-mass black holes? Numerous stellar-mass black holes are known, with masses ranging from 1.44 solar masses to 14 solar masses. These form when the cores of massive stars can no longer support their own weight and form a gravitational singularity. There are a couple of candidate phenomena for intermediate black holes, but none are definitive at this point.
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