Why do Supermassive Black Holes grow so slowly?

This artist's drawing shows a black hole surrounded by a ring of accretion. When the material inside these rings heats up they emit x-rays. Observing these x-rays is an important part of measuring SMBH and AGN. In this simulation, SMBH also launches a jet. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

When our powerful infrared telescopes allowed astronomers to look further into the future, they made some amazing discoveries. One of them involves supermassive black holes (SMBH), the physics-defying behemoths at the center of massive galaxies such as the Milky Way. In fact, the SMBH grew much faster in the jewelry world than it does in … Read more