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Loading contentA black hole of millions to billions of solar masses, found at the centre of most large galaxies.
Nearly every massive galaxy hosts a supermassive black hole at its core, including Sagittarius A* (about 4 million solar masses) in the Milky Way and M87* (about 6.5 billion solar masses). How they grew so large so early is an open question.
| Sagittarius A* mass | ≈ 4.3 million M☉ | ESO |
| M87* mass | ≈ 6.5 billion M☉ | Event Horizon Telescope |
Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.
Horizon-scale images of supermassive black holes (M87*, Sagittarius A*).
Southern-hemisphere observatory data and imagery (VLT, ALMA partner).
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.