An international team of researchers has identified a new type of astronomical object, called a “black hole star”, after analyzing observations made with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
The discovery, published in the journal Nature, could provide important clues about the formation of supermassive black holes in the early Universe, according to The Guardian.
A mysterious object from the first hundreds of millions of years of the Universe
Researchers analyzed the unusual cosmic object, identified in a region of the constellation Cetus (Whale). According to the observations, MoM-BH*-1, as it was named, already existed about 660 million years after the Big Bang.
The astronomical object appears as an extremely bright and intensely red point, and is considered the reddest object ever discovered in archived images of the James Webb Telescope.
“We have discovered a new type of astrophysical object, a star-black hole“, said Rohan Naidu, researcher at the University of Hawaii and lead author of the study, quoted by The Guardian.
It has the characteristics of a star and the energy of a black hole
The object looks like a giant star at first glance, but the amount of energy it emits far exceeds what an ordinary star can produce through nuclear fusion, according to researchers,
“It shines with the energy commonly associated with black holes, but at the same time exhibits classical characteristics of stars”explained Rohan Naidu.
The researchers’ computer simulations indicate that MoM-BH*-1 is not a star in the traditional sense, but a black hole surrounded by a huge amount of dense gas, which makes it radiate like a stellar object.
Dimensions comparable to the entire Solar System
According to the model proposed by the researchers, the “black hole star” has dimensions comparable to those of the entire Solar System. Its dense envelope of gas produces the intense red light observed by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Scientists believe that similar objects could explain the nature of the mysterious “Lilittle Red Dots” (“little red dots”), observed in large numbers in the deep-depth images taken by JWST.
Possible “seeds” of supermassive black holes
According to the authors of the study, these astronomical objects could represent an early stage in the formation of supermassive black holes, such as the one at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
“For decades we have assumed that something spectacular was happening in the early Universe. Black hole stars could be that spectacular thing. They could represent the initial phase in the evolution of almost every supermassive black hole.”Naidu stated.
Supermassive black holes are present at the center of most galaxies and are considered essential to their evolution, influencing processes such as star formation and the development of planetary systems.
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