Supermassive black holes are the largest type of black hole, with masses that can be billions of times that of the Sun. Supermassive black holes are thought to exist at the center of most galaxies, including our own Milky Way. These gargantuan objects derive their name from their extremely large mass – much larger than that of a typical stellar-mass black hole.
In fact, supermassive black holes are so massive that their gravitational pull is strong enough to exert a significant influence on the stars and gas surrounding them. This can result in some interesting phenomena, such as star clusters orbiting close to the black hole or streams of gas being drawn into it.
While we don’t yet know exactly how supermassive black holes form, there are several theories under consideration. One possibility is that they form through the repeated mergers of smaller black holes. Another is that they could arise from the direct collapse of a very massive star. Whatever their origin, these incredible objects continue to fascinate astronomers and provide us with an ongoing challenge to better understand our Universe.