Astronomers may have spotted something unlike anything previously known.
A bizarre cosmic object dubbed a “black hole star”, stretching roughly across the size of our solar system and glowing an intense red.
So, what exactly is it? The object, called MoM-BH-1*, was discovered in data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.
It appears to date back just 660 million years after the Big Bang, giving scientists a rare glimpse into the universe’s infancy.
At first glance, it looks like an enormous star. But there’s a problem: it produces around 100 billion times more energy than a normal star.
An output much more consistent with a black hole.
“We have found a new type of astrophysical object, a black hole star,” said Dr Rohan Naidu, who led the research.
Black Hole Star Stuns Astronomers
Computer models suggest a black hole may be buried beneath an enormous cloud of dense gas, making it shine almost like a star.
Could this strange object solve one of astronomy’s biggest puzzles? Scientists think so.
Naidu says these “black hole stars” could be the early seeds of the supermassive black holes now found at the centres of galaxies.
If confirmed, the discovery could offer a remarkable new chapter in the story of how galaxies and perhaps eventually planets and life came to exist.
