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Black Hole Brightness Drops 95%: Feeding Patterns Shift

4/9/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Astronomers observed a supermassive black hole in the galaxy J0218–0036 dim by 95% over 20 years due to a sharp drop in gas supply.
The finding challenges models by showing black-hole feeding can change on human timescales.
A separate study finds the universe's most massive black holes grow more slowly, by a factor of 22 over 10 billion years, due to less cold gas.

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Story summary

Astronomers observed a supermassive black hole in the galaxy J0218–0036 dim by 95% over 20 years due to a sharp drop in gas supply.
The finding challenges models by showing black-hole feeding can change on human timescales.
A separate study finds the universe's most massive black holes grow more slowly, by a factor of 22 over 10 billion years, due to less cold gas.