Possibly—but no planets formed around black holes have been detected. A 2026 study models how planet-building processes might operate in the dusty outer regions of disks around supermassive black holes. Its predicted objects range from planetesimals to bodies heavier than stars, so “planets” is only part of the story.
What the new study proposes
In a paper titled Active Galactic Nucleus Tori: Potential Birthplace to Millions of Planets, Bhupendra Mishra and co-authors model planet formation in the dusty torus of an active galactic nucleus (AGN). An AGN is a region around a supermassive black hole where gas and dust form a disk as material accretes toward the black hole.
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The authors’ paper was submitted to arXiv on May 19, 2026, and its record says it was accepted in The Astrophysical Journal. The work uses a recently proposed strongly magnetized disk model intended to keep the disk gravitationally stable. It investigates whether dust can condense and form larger bodies in the torus’s outer regions; it does not report observations of such bodies. Read the paper’s arXiv record and abstract.
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How objects could form in an AGN disk
The proposed sequence uses familiar ingredients from planet-formation theory, but applies them in an unusual setting:
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- Dust grains coagulate: Small solid grains collide and stick, growing into larger particles.
- Streaming instability concentrates solids: Interactions between particles and surrounding gas can gather solids into dense filaments.
- Filaments collapse: Under suitable conditions, concentrated material collapses into planetesimals—the building blocks of planets.
- Planetesimals grow: The model includes pebble accretion, in which solid particles are swept up, alongside gas accretion.
The outer regions of the modeled AGN disks have temperatures that the authors say are similar to those of circumstellar disks, allowing dust to condense. As the paper’s abstract puts it: “The outer regions of AGN disks have temperatures similar to those of circumstellar disks, permitting dust condensation.”
What the simulations predict—and what they do not
Mishra and co-authors report model outcomes, not a census of objects observed around black holes. Their abstract gives the following predicted quantities:
| Model result | What it means |
|---|---|
| Tens of millions of planetesimals, ranging from Earth mass to super-Jupiter mass | A predicted outcome of dust-filament collapse in the modeled AGN tori, not a count of detected objects. |
| Mass-doubling times of 103 to 107 years | The range reported for modeled growth; the abstract notes that some cases enter 3D Hill and geometric accretion regimes. |
| Solar masses of dust in filaments | An estimated amount of material in modeled filaments, not a measured dust mass in a particular AGN. |
The model also allows some objects to grow to stellar masses, through a possible core-accretion route to star formation. It predicts exotic objects above the hydrogen-burning limit formed directly from dust as well. Those predictions mean the resulting population would not consist solely of planets.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallHow this differs from planet formation around a star
The proposed building blocks and growth mechanisms—dust coagulation, streaming instability, planetesimal formation, and pebble accretion—are familiar from studies of circumstellar disks. The setting is not: an AGN torus surrounds a supermassive black hole rather than a young star. The paper explores whether planet-building can work under conditions in that environment; it does not establish that AGN tori and ordinary protoplanetary disks produce matching populations.
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Have planets around black holes been found?
No detection of planets formed in AGN tori is reported by the paper. EarthSky’s discussion of the study mentions radial-velocity, transit, and gravitational-microlensing searches as possible ideas, while noting obstacles posed by the AGN environment. These are possibilities discussed in secondary reporting, not validated methods for finding the population predicted by this model. EarthSky’s report on the simulations and detection challenges.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are they planets, or “blanets”?
The paper’s abstract uses “planets,” but its predicted outcomes span planetesimals through possible stellar-mass objects. EarthSky reports that reviewers objected to calling the objects planets and that “blanets” was suggested. That word is an informal suggestion, not an established scientific term. For now, “predicted objects in AGN disks” is the most precise description when referring to the full range.
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