Possible ‘Black Hole Star’ Spotted at Cosmic Dawn

Astronomers say James Webb Space Telescope images may reveal a new object called a “black hole star.” MoM-BH-1*, located in Cetus billions of light-years away, existed about 660 million years after the Big Bang and appears as a brilliant red, solar-system-sized star. Yet researchers report that it emits roughly 100 billion times more energy than any known star, giving it traits associated with both stars and black holes.

A US-led team using the James Webb Space Telescope announced a possible new astronomical class called a “black hole star.” The solar-system-sized object dates to about 660 million years after the Big Bang but reportedly generates 100 billion times more energy than any star. Described in Nature, it could help explain the bright “little red dots” JWST has repeatedly detected and may also inform questions about unexpectedly developed galaxies in the early universe.

MIT and collaborating astronomers report an extremely bright red object in the early universe that resembles a solar-system-sized star but emits 100 billion times more energy than any known star could physically produce. Their Nature paper identifies it as a probable new “black hole star”: a dense, star-like gas cloud powered by a central black hole rather than nuclear fusion. The object was discovered using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

The Mirage or Miracle survey found the unusually bright red MoM-BH*-1 while searching JWST images for the earliest galaxies. Researchers initially considered dust as the cause of its color, but spectral analysis reportedly showed mostly hydrogen and helium and an extreme Balmer break consistent with dense hydrogen. Their evolving model places a black hole about 100,000 times the Sun’s mass inside a solar-system-sized gas envelope, producing far more energy than ordinary fusion could generate.

After four years studying bright red dots recurring in JWST images, researchers propose they represent a new astrophysical source called “black hole stars.” A Nature study models these entities as immense dense gas clouds powered by central black holes rather than ordinary stellar fusion. In the example described, the black hole is estimated at around 100,000 solar masses and its star-like envelope spans roughly the solar system. The finding arose unexpectedly during the Mirage or Miracle galaxy survey.

International researchers analyzing JWST imagery identified MoM-BH*-1, a proposed “black hole star” in Cetus that formed about 660 million years after the Big Bang. Simulations described in Nature indicate it is not powered by stellar nuclear fusion, but may contain a central black hole surrounded by hot, dense gas. The article presents such objects as a possible evolutionary link that could help explain the rapid growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe.

Astronomers using JWST have described a possible new object called a “black hole star”: a supermassive black hole enclosed by a solar-system-sized gas cloud. It produces 100 billion times the energy of any known star and may help identify the “little red dots” appearing in images of the early universe. Published in Nature, the finding is the first described example, although the researchers expect that more such objects will be found.

The most distant known “black hole star,” observed less than 660 million years after the Big Bang, may clarify the origin of JWST’s mysterious “little red dots.” The article describes a developing consensus that such objects are growing supermassive black holes buried in large gas clouds whose spectra resemble cool red stars. Found through the Mirage or Miracle survey, the new object may provide a missing link between black hole stars and their faint host galaxies.

Researchers describe a possible “black hole star” as an early, rapidly growing black hole enclosed in dense gas. Reported in Nature by an international team involving the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, the object may explain the “little red dots” seen in JWST data. It could also illuminate how black holes with billions of solar masses emerged unusually soon after the Big Bang, a longstanding problem highlighted by massive early quasars.

Researchers may have found a previously unknown object combining stellar and black-hole characteristics. JWST observations show MoM-BH-1* as an exceptionally bright red source in Cetus, dating to around 660 million years after the Big Bang. Its energy output reportedly exceeds that of a typical known star by about 100 billion times. Scientists propose that it is a black hole enclosed by gas dense enough to make it radiate like a star.

Astronomers using JWST discovered MoM-BH*-1, described as a new “black hole star” formed about 660 million years after the Big Bang. The solar-system-wide object is presented as a dense gas envelope energized by a central black hole, producing 100 billion times more energy than a standard star could generate. The article says the Nature study resolves the mystery of JWST’s “little red dots,” portraying the finding as a major challenge to conventional astrophysical categories.

Researchers searching JWST data for the earliest galaxies found MoM-BH*-1, an exceptionally bright red object in the early universe. Although it appears as large as the solar system, it generates 100 billion times more energy than any star could produce through fusion. Rohan Naidu and colleagues argue in Nature that it is a new “black hole star”: an enormous gas cloud illuminated by a central black hole estimated at 100,000 solar masses.