Webb telescope uncovers a black hole star among the early-universe 'little red dots'

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have found deep spectral evidence that the little red dot GLIMPSE-17775, seen behind the gravitational lens Abell S1063, is a black hole star—an actively feeding supermassive black hole cocooned in dense gas. The spectrum shows unusual emission lines, an iron forest, and electron scattering consistent with a rapidly growing black hole in a cocoon, supporting the idea that many early-universe little red dots are such black-hole–driven systems and explaining their faint X-ray signals. This is the deepest spectrum to date for a little red dot, and researchers plan further follow-up to pin down the engines powering these sources.