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.
