A large amount of material can accrete onto supermassive black holes in merging galaxies. This was revealed by observations from the Subaru Telescope.

A research team of astronomers observed 29 infrared luminous gas-rich merging galaxies with the Subaru Telescope’s Infrared Camera and Spectrograph and its adaptive optics system. The team confirmed that at least one active supermassive black hole occurs in all but one galaxy.

Only 15 percent of merging galaxies display multiple active supermassive black holes. Not all supermassive black holes in gas-rich merging galaxies are actively accreting mass. The researcher explains that the activity of merging galaxies shows individual character.

Project	Subaru Telescope
Instrument	Subaru Telescope + IRCS
Related Link	Active Supermassive Black Holes Revealed in Merging Galaxies