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Galaxy Collisions Found to Activate Supermassive Black Holes, Euclid Data Shows

Galaxy Collisions Found to Activate Supermassive Black Holes, Euclid Data Shows

Euclid telescope data shows merging galaxies are 2–6 times more likely to host active supermassive black holes, revealing how collisions fuel AGN and shape galaxy evolution.

Written by Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 12 December 2025 23:30 IST

Galaxy Collisions Found to Activate Supermassive Black Holes, Euclid Data Shows

Photo Credit: Space

Merging galaxies found to frequently host active giant black holes

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Highlights

Merging galaxies show far higher AGN activity
Euclid and AI reveal collision–AGN link
Black hole feeding shapes galaxy evolution

Astronomers have found strong evidence that collisions between galaxies can “activate” supermassive black holes at their centers, turning once-quiet giants into bright, energetic engines called active galactic nuclei (AGN). Using data from the European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope and advanced artificial intelligence tools, researchers report that merging galaxies are far more likely to host an AGN than solitary ones.

How Galaxy Collisions Feed Black Holes

According to two preprint studies, in‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ most galaxies, supermassive black holes are quiet; however, when a large amount of gas and dust falls onto them, the falling material forms a hot accretion disk that brightens intensely and can release powerful jets. Such a phenomenon is what astronomers call an active galactic nucleus.

While examining approximately one million galaxies photographed by Euclid, scientists employed AI to determine which galaxies are undergoing mergers and which have AGN. They discovered that merging galaxies possess the probability of being active two to six times higher than that of non-merging ones; thus, the result serves as evidence that the gravitational havoc of a collision can propel gas inside the galaxy core to feed the black ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌hole.

New Telescope Data Deepens the Mystery of How Fast the Universe Is Expanding

Why This Matters for Galaxy Evolution

Understanding what triggers AGN is key to piecing together how galaxies and their central black holes grow together. By‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ releasing heat and gas, active black holes can starve star formation in their host galaxies and so change their future drastically. Even though it has been suggested that mergers may not be the cause of each AGN, this new data demonstrates that interactions between galaxies are the principal cause of the high-energy and luminous black hole activities that can be detected in the ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌universe.

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