Unraveling the Mystery of the Universe's Mightiest Black Holes and Their Galactic Impact.

Scientists have discovered that quasars, energetic objects powered by supermassive black holes, form when galaxies collide and merge. The gas needed to fuel quasars tends to orbit on the outskirts of galaxies, so there must be some delivery service moving gas toward the hearts of galaxies. The researchers discovered the presence of distorted structures at the edges of the quasar-hosting galaxies, indicating a past or ongoing collision and merger with another galaxy. The findings indicate that the Milky Way could host a quasar of its own when it collides with the neighboring Andromeda galaxy several billion years from now.