Home > Astronomy > Life and Death of Stars

Are black holes responsible for giving a galaxy its shape?

Answer 1

Supermassive black holes are responsible for the evolution of galaxies.

It is widely acknowledged that a supermassive black hole lies at the center of every large galaxy, including our own Milky Way galaxy.

According to recent observations, the mass of the galaxy that contains a supermassive black hole determines its mass; the larger the galaxy, the larger the black hole.

The supermassive black hole is thought to be the primary regulator of star formation in the galaxy because it releases "winds" of gases into the galaxy that alter the gas distribution within the galaxy, potentially clearing out gases from star-forming regions and halting star formation.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer 2

Layla Anderson

No, the overall structure of a galaxy is determined by a variety of factors, such as interactions with other galaxies, dark matter, and star distribution. Black holes do not determine the shape of a galaxy.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.