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Astronomy & Space vocabulary · Galaxies & Deep Sky

Supermassive black hole

Meaning in astronomy & space, with examples

nounCommon term

In astronomy & space, supermassive black hole means: A black hole with the mass of millions or billions of Suns. Almost every large galaxy, including the Milky Way, has one at its centre.

In Turkish: süper kütleli kara delik

How it is used

Used in galaxy research and science news. The one at the centre of our galaxy is called Sagittarius A* (said 'A-star') and has about four million times the Sun's mass. When it pulls in gas, a supermassive black hole can power a bright quasar.

Example sentences

  1. The supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way was imaged in 2022.

  2. Astronomers are surprised by how quickly the first supermassive black holes grew.

Common collocations

  • central supermassive black hole
  • the supermassive black hole at the centre
  • growth of supermassive black holes
  • black holeA region of space where matter is packed so tightly that gravity stops anything, even light, from escaping. Many form when very massive stars collapse.
  • quasarThe extremely bright centre of a distant galaxy, powered by a supermassive black hole pulling in gas. A single quasar can outshine its entire galaxy.
  • galaxyAn enormous system of stars, gas, dust and dark matter held together by gravity. A large galaxy can contain hundreds of billions of stars.
  • event horizonThe boundary around a black hole beyond which nothing, not even light, can escape. Anything that crosses it can never come back out.
  • Milky WayThe barred spiral galaxy that contains our solar system and a few hundred billion stars. It also names the pale band of light it forms across a dark night sky.

More terms: Galaxies & Deep Sky

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