SETI Live: Can Planets Form Around Supermassive Black Holes?

What if some of the strangest planets in the universe are born near supermassive black holes?

New simulations suggest that the dusty outer regions surrounding actively feeding supermassive black holes could behave in surprising ways, like the planet-forming disks around young stars. Dust may clump together and grow into enormous planet-mass objects - potentially hundreds or even thousands of times the mass of Earth. Some could eventually become massive enough to ignite fusion and become stars.

Join SETI Institute scientist Dr. Lauren Sgro for a conversation with lead authors Dr. Bhupendra Mishra and Dr. Wladimir Lyra about their research into active galactic nuclei as possible cosmic planet factories. They'll explore how these unusual worlds might form, how many could exist, and whether astronomers could someday detect them through gravitational microlensing or other signals.

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