Astronomers have detected a mid-infrared flare from the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy for the very first time, and it’s shedding new light on the complex physics driving these energetic outbursts.

The universe could be home to far more supermassive black holes than we realised, according to new research. Astronomers from the University of Southampton say that 35% of these galactic giants - some which are billions of times heavier than the sun - have gone undiscovered because they are obscured by thick clouds of gas and dust.

Researchers found far more hidden black holes than previously known, indicating plenty of behemoths lurking in thick clouds of gas and dust.

Most picture the night sky as an endless sea of twinkling stars. But if your eyes could see the universe in X-rays, you’d spot thousands upon thousands of bright points representing giant black holes feeding on gas and dust.

According to scientists, there could be more black holes in the universe than previously thought. Researchers reckon astronomers could be missing between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of the feeding supermassive black holes,

NASA's Chandra and NuSTAR telescopes have teamed up to study a supermassive black hole-powered quasar that could have played a key role in ending the cosmic dark ages.

Active galactic nuclei are supermassive black holes at the center of certain galaxies. As matter falls into these black holes, enormous amounts of energy are released, making active galactic nuclei, or AGN,