On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Galaxies and the giant black holes at their hubs fit together as if they were made for one another. Did the holes come first and guide the formation of their galaxies, did the galaxies come first and build up holes, or did some common factor sculpt both? At the American Astronomical Society meeting in January, Christopher Carilli of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and his colleagues argued that the holes came first. They found that galaxies in the early universe were 30 times more massive than their black holes, whereas present-day galaxies are 1,000 times heavier. “Black holes came first and somehow—we don't know how—grew the galaxy around them,” Carilli said. Other astronomers were skeptical, wondering whether the ancient galaxies seem undersized merely because of a statistical selection effect. Even if true, the study does not explain how a black hole can nurture a galaxy; if anything, it should tear it apart.
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
