• Question: Are black holes found in the centre of every Galaxy?

    Asked by Octopus Prime to Simon, Julia, Delma, Andrew, Alex on 14 Dec 2015.
    • Photo: Delma Childers

      Delma Childers answered on 14 Dec 2015:

      Hi again, Octopus! Almost all massive galaxies have a supermassive black hole in the centre. Now, I’m not entirely sure why physicists say most and not all – all the galaxies I have read about are thought to have supermassive black holes in the centre. Sounds like they say ‘most’ just in case one galaxy somewhere has something else in the centre to prove them wrong. ;P

    • Photo: Alexander Finch

      Alexander Finch answered on 14 Dec 2015:

      It’s probably just that, Delma – uncertainty! We cannot see black holes, even with our best telescopes, but we guess that they are there from the movement of stars around the centre of the galaxies. Those ones at the centres of galaxies are particularly huge, but there are other, smaller black holes all over the place (we think!).

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