Astronomers Discover an Entirely New Type of Object: a “Black Hole Star” - Yahoo
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified a 'black hole star,' a massive object powered by a black hole rather than nuclear fusion. This discovery helps explain mysterious, dense red objects observed in the early universe.
Why it matters
This finding challenges existing astrophysical models and provides new insights into the formation of supermassive black holes in the early universe.
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Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a new type of cosmic monstrosity: a “black hole star.”
The glowing red object, dubbed MoM-BH*-1, is 100,000 times more massive than our Sun and is trapped in a shell of gas so thick that it looks like a star the size of the entire solar system. But unlike an actual star, it’s not fusion powering its center, but a black hole constantly devouring matter.
As detailed in a new study about the findings published in the journal Nature , the black hole at the object’s center is releasing 100 billion times more energy than any known star. And it’s ancient, having formed less than 700 million years after the Big Bang.
The object, astronomers say, is utterly peerless.
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