At a Glance

Researchers have discovered what may be the most massive black holes ever detected.Data suggests these "ultramassive" black holes are growing at the rate of the galaxies they're in. The giant space voids have masses that are at least 10 billion times that of the sun.

Teams of researchers have discovered what may be the most massive black holes ever detected, and have found that they may be growing faster than the stars around them.

Using X-rays and radio emissions, scientists analyzed 72 galaxies lying in the middle of , according to a release from NASA. The clusters are roughly4.3 to 12.2 billion light-years away from Earth and contain“ultramassive” black holes that are roughly 10 times bigger than the average void.

A separate team of researchers found that black holes in larger galaxies are expanding faster than the voids in smaller galaxies, which may be due to them growing in unison with the galaxy itself, reports NASA.

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The study led by Penn State scientist Guang Yang, suggests the growth ratio of black holes and their nearby stars increased as their surrounding galaxy grew. This indicates that galaxies that contain more stars have “hungrier” black holes.

“We are trying to reconstruct a race that started billions of years ago,” Yang stated in the release. “We are using extraordinary data taken from different telescopes to figure out how this cosmic competition unfolded.”

Galaxies that are home to roughly 100 billion solar masses worth of stars have ratios that are about ten times more than that of galaxies holding roughly 10 billion solar masses worth of stars, according to NASA.

“An obvious question is why?” Yang’s study co-author and Penn State researcher Niel Brandt said in the release. “Maybe massive galaxies are more effective at feeding cold gas to their central supermassive black holes than less massive ones.”

To qualify as an ultramassive black hole, the void must be , according to a 2012 report from NASA.

“We found black holes that are far bigger than we expected,” Institute of Space Sciences postdoctoral fellow Mar Mezcua told NASA. “Maybe they got a head start in this race to grow, or maybe they’ve had an edge in speed of growth that’s lasted billions of years.”

Almost half of the black holes evaluated in a study co-authored by Mezcua had , according to a release from the University of Montreal.

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As black holes grow, they become stronger. This means the voids can draw in the matter surrounding it, including stars, Mezcua’s co-author and University of Montreal Department of Physics professor Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo explained in the release. The black holes then release energy jets so strong that they could create a mini Big Bang that could cause major damage to a host galaxy.

Despite the potential for galactic destruction, Hlavacek-Larrondo says we have nothing to worry about in our own galaxy.

“Sagittarius A, the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, is a bit boring,” she said. “It's not very active, much like a dormant volcano. It sucks up little matter and probably wouldn't be able to produce destructive high-energy jets."

The professor describes black holes as “the most powerful objects in the universe,” and says they are far from silent lurkers.

“To understand the formation and evolution of galaxies, which are the building blocks of our universe, we must first understand these black holes,” Hlavacek-Larrondo said.