Heart of the 'Squid Galaxy' reveals how supermassive black holes dictate galactic chemistry

Supermassive black holes that lurk at the hearts of large galaxies influence the distribution of chemicals throughout their entire galactic homes.

The new research was conducted by a team of astronomers that used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to look at the supermassive-powered AGN of the galaxy NGC 1068 , also known as Messier 77 (M77) or simply, the " Squid Galaxy " In particular, the team observed that isotopes of hydrogen cyanide were confined to the central region of the AGN .