An international team of astronomers has announced the discovery of a previously unknown type of cosmic object, described as a black hole “star,” located in the constellation Cetus billions of light years from Earth. The object, designated MoM-BH*-1, is estimated to have formed 660 million years after the big bang and measures approximately the size of the entire solar system.
The breakthrough came after researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope identified the object as an unusually bright red spot while conducting observations of distant galaxies. The research team, led by Dr. Rohan Naidu of the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, now at the University of Hawaii, characterized the object as displaying an entirely red light signature that disappears abruptly below certain wavelengths, with no comparison to any known class of celestial objects.
Analysis revealed that while the object physically resembles a massive star, it releases approximately 100 billion times more energy than any known star can produce. This energy output aligns far more closely with observations from black holes. Computer simulations indicated that rather than functioning as a nuclear fusion-powered star, the object is a black hole densely surrounded by layers of gas that cause it to emit radiation similar to a star. The findings, published in Nature, suggest the object combines characteristics classically associated with both black holes and stars.
The discovery has significant implications for understanding cosmic evolution. Researchers suggest that numerous other mysterious red objects, referred to as Little Red Dots, visible in nearly every deep space image from the James Webb Space Telescope may also represent black hole stars. Scientists hypothesize that these objects could serve as the foundational seeds for present-day supermassive black holes, such as the one at the center of the Milky Way, and may play a crucial role in galactic evolution and the formation of stars and planets.
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