University of Maryland astronomers have identified a dormant supermassive black hole positioned far from the center of its host galaxy. The discovery marks the first time scientists have found an inactive black hole at such a great distance from a galactic core.
Because the black hole was not actively consuming matter, it would ordinarily have remained invisible. Its location was exposed only when it tore apart a passing star, producing a brief but powerful burst of light. The findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on July 27, 2026.
"This is a novel result. What's new is that, until now, we've started with the assumption that supermassive black holes reside in the centers of massive galaxies," said study co-author Suvi Gezari, an associate professor of astronomy at UMD. "This discovery will have a huge impact. It means that we're going to find many more examples of wandering black holes, and we can understand how galaxies and their black holes merge and build up over time."
A Long Predicted Wandering Black Hole
Scientists have long predicted that some black holes could be displaced toward the outer regions of galaxies during galactic collisions and mergers. These objects are often described as "wandering" black holes.
