Supermassive Black Hole Reactivates After 100 Million Years, Erupts Like Cosmic Volcano

Key facts

• A supermassive black hole at the core of a distant galaxy woke up after roughly 100 million years of dormancy.
• Scientists observed the event during the Clusters Hiding in Plain Sight (CHiPS) Survey, specifically CHIPS1911+4455, a rapidly cooling core in a merging cluster.
• The reactivated black hole emitted massive high‑energy jets and radiation, likened to a volcanic eruption in outer space.
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) research papers state that active galactic nuclei can produce more energy than all the stars in a galaxy combined.
• The observation demonstrates the cyclical nature of black holes, which can remain inactive for several million years before suddenly becoming active again.
• Such eruptions have a significant impact on surrounding gas clouds, star formation processes, and galaxy architecture.