Utah astronomers uncover shortage of black holes in dwarf galaxies

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Utah astronomers uncover shortage of black holes in dwarf galaxies
MJ Jewkes
Fri, December 12, 2025 at 12:14 PM EST
2 min read



Bright X-rays in the centers of galaxies like NGC 6278 (left) is a signature of a supermassive black hole. However, most smaller galaxies in the study, including PGC 039620 (right), did not have these signals. (Courtesy//NASA/CXC/SAO/F. Zou et al)


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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Astronomers are learning more about the origins of supermassive black holes after new data is revealed from a 20-year-long mission.

Previous studies of galaxies indicated that nearly every galaxy had a supermassive black hole at its center. University of Utah professor, Anil Seth, says such a pattern might not extend to smaller galaxies.

“This result is a little surprising to me, because a lot of my other work has found that small galaxies to, at least sometimes, have central supermassive black holes,” Seth said.

Data from the study indicates that only about 30% of dwarf galaxies likely contain giant black holes at their center.

Seth, along with a team of astronomers, utilized data from over 1,600 galaxies collected over the span of more than 20 years during NASA’s Chandra mission.

David Ohlson, a U doctoral student, and co-author of the study, aided in creating a “massive catalog” of galactic information.

“I’m thrilled to see our galaxy catalog used to better understand the likely origin of massive black holes,” Ohlson said.

Researchers used instruments to detect X-rays which are a clear signature of material falling onto black holes. Data showed over 90% of massive galaxies contain supermassive black holes, including Milky Way-sized galaxies.

Smaller galaxies do not contain detectable X-ray sources, researchers say.

“The formation of big black holes is expected to be rarer, so that would explain why we don’t find black holes in all the smaller galaxies,” Seth added.

According to a U press release, the study could have important implications for how scientists understand the origins of supermassive black holes. The team’s research was published in The Astrophysical Journal.


https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/utah-astronomers-uncover-shortage-black-171448286.html