Tag

James Webb Space Telescope

All articles tagged with #james webb space telescope

science15 hours ago•4 min saved

Webb dots reveal early supermassive black holes in tiny galaxies

A Nature Astronomy study using JWST data from the COSMOS-Web region suggests the mysterious 'little red dots' are the earliest supermassive black holes, residing in very compact host galaxies that contain about 1 billion stars. The host galaxies are ~4% of the Milky Way’s size and contribute only ~10% of the dots’ light, while the central black holes (roughly 10^7–10^9 solar masses) dominate the emission. This implies black holes may grow most of their mass before their galaxies form most of their stars, shedding light on how black holes and galaxies co-evolve; the team analyzed 217 JWST images across a region about three times the Moon’s size to measure host properties and applied PSF subtraction to isolate the faint hosts.

via The Conversation|

#astronomy #black-holes #early-universe

space2 days ago•9 min saved

Webb Discovers Uranus’s 29th Moon, a Tiny 10-km World Voyager 2 Missed

The James Webb Space Telescope found a new Uranian moon, S/2025 U1, about 10 kilometers across, between Ophelia and Bianca, bringing Uranus’s known moons to 29. Voyager 2’s 1986 flyby had already discovered 10 moons (with Perdita later identified in archival data), but its brief, changing view and instrumental limits mean it could miss small objects like this. Webb’s six-hour infrared observations confirmed the moon’s movement, and its proximity to rings and inner moons offers new data for modeling Uranus’s system. The discovery highlights how different observing methods reveal unseen bodies and how future missions could further illuminate the Uranian system.

via The Economic Times|

#james-webb-space-telescope #moons #s2025-u1

space4 days ago•138 min saved

JWST spots solar-system-sized 'black hole star' in the early universe

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have spotted MoM-BH*-1, a solar-system-sized, red, gas-enshrouded object about 660 million years after the Big Bang. Interpreted as a black hole star—a massive black hole wrapped in a cocoon of dense gas—the object could be the best evidence yet for this hypothetical class and may explain the mysterious 'little red dots' seen by JWST. The central black hole could weigh up to about 100,000 solar masses, and while previous candidates existed, MoM-BH*-1 is farther away and thus more informative; further observations are needed to confirm the model and understand how such objects form.

via Live Science|

#black-hole-star #early-universe #james-webb-space-telescope

space-and-astronomy4 days ago•58 min saved

Webb spots solar-system-sized dot likely a black hole star from the dawn of the universe

The James Webb Space Telescope identified MoM-BH*-1, a solar-system-sized, ruby-red dot seen about 660 million years after the Big Bang, proposed as a new object class: a black hole star—a dense shell of gas around a massive black hole. If confirmed, it would be the strongest evidence yet for this type of object and could help explain the enigmatic “little red dots” JWST has found. The object may host up to ~100,000 solar masses, with its Balmer-break spectrum indicating a dust-free, hydrogen/helium gas cocoon rather than ordinary starlight; further observations and modeling are needed to verify this interpretation.

via Yahoo|

#black-hole-star #early-universe #james-webb-space-telescope

space5 days ago•159 min saved

JWST uncovers hidden stars that inflate the earliest galaxies

New JWST study of nine early galaxies, combined with VLT data, reveals a larger population of faint, small stars than in the Milky Way. This means those galaxies contain more mass than previously estimated, with one example reaching up to four times the prior mass. The finding could require revisions to galaxy-formation models and suggests more planets may have formed around small stars in the early universe.

via Space|

#early-galaxies #galaxy-formation #james-webb-space-telescope

space6 days ago•158 min saved

Hubble and JWST Unite for a Stunning Black Eye Galaxy Composite

Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope teamed up to capture Messier 64, the Black Eye Galaxy, in a new composite image that combines ultraviolet, visible and infrared data; the galaxy lies about 17 million light-years away and exhibits unusual motion where outer gas rotates opposite to the center, showcasing how the two observatories complement each other. The Black Eye Galaxy is also a popular target for backyard astronomers with small telescopes.

via Space|

#black-eye-galaxy #composite-image #hubble-space-telescope

space7 days ago•3 min saved

James Webb Spots a New Class of Star Fueled by Black Holes

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists identified a new object class—'black hole stars'—dense gas clouds fully enveloping a black hole that are powered by the black hole’s energy rather than fusion, yielding a brightness about 100 billion times that of a normal star. These objects appear as extremely bright red dots in Webb’s deep-field images from the cosmic dawn, implying such systems formed in the early universe and could shed light on how supermassive black holes arise; they are not accretion disks and require further study.

via jalopnik.com|

#accretion-disk #black-hole-star #cosmic-dawn

astronomy8 days ago•14 min saved

Webb uncovers a buried black-hole-star in the early universe

JWST images of MoM-BH*-1, a red point at z ≈ 7.7569 (about 660 million years after the Big Bang), reveal luminosity near 100 billion Suns powered not by fusion but by an accreting black hole enshrouded in a dense, nearly dust-free gas cocoon. Spectra show an extreme Balmer break and broad hydrogen lines that support a black-hole–star model, with the envelope spanning roughly 10–100 AU and gas densities ~10^11 cm^-3, column ~10^25.8 cm^-2; the black hole mass is likely ~10^6–10^7 solar masses. This finding hints at rapid black-hole growth in the early universe and helps explain the population of little red dots as buried black holes, though future observations are needed to test the cocoon scenario.

via Space Daily|

#accreting-black-hole #astronomy #balmer-break

space9 days ago•12 min saved

Seven Cosmic Snapshots from Hubble and Webb Redefine the Universe

A roundup of seven breathtaking telescope images captured by Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope, including the Pillars of Creation, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, SMACS 0723, the Cosmic Cliffs, the Southern Ring Nebula, Stephan’s Quintet, and the Crab Nebula, illustrating how observing different wavelengths reveals star formation, distant galaxies, and the life cycles of stars, and how multi-wavelength data deepen our understanding of the cosmos.

via Interesting Engineering|

#astronomy #deep-field #hubble

science9 days ago•5 min saved

JWST Spots a Black Hole Star Lighting Up the Early Universe

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists describe MoM-BH*-1—a black hole embedded in a massive, luminous gas envelope that glows bright red about 660 million years after the Big Bang. The object emits energy far exceeding normal stars, while dense surrounding gas absorbs light in a way that makes the source appear star-like. This provides evidence for the existence of black hole stars and may explain mysterious red spots seen in the early universe.

via WIRED|

#black-hole-star #early-universe #james-webb-space-telescope

science10 days ago•2 min saved

James Webb Spots a New Cosmic Class: a Black Hole Star Wrapped in Gas

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers identified MoM-BH*-1—a black hole at its core surrounded by a dense gas shell that makes it look star-like, with about 100,000 solar masses and emitting energy about 100 billion times that of a typical star; it formed within 700 million years after the Big Bang. This discovery suggests many of the faint red dots seen in the early universe could be black hole stars embedded in young galaxies, potentially reshaping ideas about early black holes and galaxy growth.

via Futurism|

#black-hole-star #early-universe #james-webb-space-telescope

space-and-astronomy10 days ago•48 min saved

Webb Uncovers a Black Hole Star: The Cosmos’ New Object Class

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have identified MoM-BH*-1—a black hole star about 100,000 solar masses formed less than 700 million years after the Big Bang. Its center is a black hole that relentlessly accretes matter, emitting about 100 billion times more energy than a typical star, while a dense gas shell makes it appear star-sized. The finding suggests other so-called 'Little Red Dots' could be black hole stars, potentially reshaping our understanding of early galaxies and black hole growth.

via Yahoo|

#astronomy #black-holes #early-universe

space11 days ago•168 min saved

JWST uncovers the universe’s closest dual black holes in its early era

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (with ALMA) confirm LID-1166—the closest pair of actively feeding supermassive black holes observed this early in cosmic history. The dual SMBHs sit about 4,900 light-years apart in a merging galaxy roughly 1.3 billion years after the Big Bang, with distinct spectral signals and surrounding cold gas indicating two active nuclei. This first close-pair observation helps explain how supermassive black holes grew so rapidly in the early universe and sheds light on galaxy–black hole co-evolution.

via Live Science|

#astronomy #black-holes #galaxy-mergers

space12 days ago•3 min saved

NASA unveils a vivid collage of the Tarantula Nebula's star-forming region

NASA scientists released a new composite image of the Tarantula Nebula (30 Doradus) in the Large Magellanic Cloud, assembled from Chandra X-ray data and infrared data from JWST and Hubble, revealing thousands of young stars in a honeycomb of gas and dust; the researchers say the region is losing energy as hot gas leaks out, with turbulent cooling and heat transfer shaping future star formation, per an Astrophysical Journal paper.

via New York Post|

#30-doradus #hubble-space-telescope #james-webb-space-telescope

space13 days ago•2 min saved

Astronomers Detect a Solar-System-Sized Black Hole That Shines Like a Star

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers report a candidate 'black hole star' in Cetus—the reddest object MoM-BH*-1—an entity about the size of the solar system that emits far more energy than any star yet shows stellar signatures. Computer simulations suggest it is a black hole swaddled in dense gas radiating as a star, and if confirmed, such objects could exist in large numbers, potentially shaping early galaxy evolution and serving as seeds for supermassive black holes.

via The Guardian|

#black-hole-star #early-universe #james-webb-space-telescope