Natural Sciences Active Updated Aug 8, 2026
A hidden black hole caught wandering far from its galaxy's center
Astronomers have long suspected that galaxy mergers fling some supermassive black holes away from their galaxy's core, but a quiet, non-feeding black hole is invisible until it eats something. The arc will run as the same detection method, an AI system flagging rare flares in survey data, is used to find out how many more of these displaced giants are hiding in the outskirts of other galaxies.
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Aug 8, 2026 Latest
University of Maryland astronomers led by Robert David Stein used the Zwicky Transient Facility at Palomar Observatory, aided by an AI system sifting hundreds of thousands of nightly transients, to catch a supermassive black hole shredding a star 30,000 light years from its galaxy's center, the first dormant black hole found that far from a galactic core. Co-author Suvi Gezari said the discovery means many more wandering black holes should now turn up.
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