Supermassive Black Hole Precursors Found at Galactic Core

Everyone knows that supermassive black holes are extremely dense and heavy, usually tipping the scales at several million solar masses. How they form is largely a mystery, but one theory is that they arise from intermediate-mass black holes. Signs of such structures have been found at the core of our galaxy.

Not quite as large as the supermassive variety, intermediary black holes are still impressive, weighing several thousands of solar masses themselves, and tend to arise from large and dense molecular clouds. Four such structures were detected at the galactic core, and one is believed to host Sagittarius A*.

These objects are located around 30,000 light-years away from our current location. Astrophysicists believe that Sagittarius A* is the supermassive black hole powering the Milky Way. The behemoth is estimated to weigh 4 million solar masses, Space reports.