Astronomers Discover the Existence of a Black Hole Star
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified a potential 'black hole star' in the early universe, a massive object that appears to be a black hole shrouded in dense gas. This discovery challenges existing models of how stars and black holes formed in the early cosmos.
Why it matters
Identifying such objects provides new insights into the evolution of the early universe and the nature of supermassive black holes.
In a new paper in Nature, scientists have chronicled a “black hole star” that’s the size of our solar system and glows bright red in the depth of space. The findings are based on observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, which continues to change how astronomers think about the cosmos.
Researchers focused on some of the most distant observable phenomena in the universe, which appear to be something like a star in disguise. Based on the light they emit, they appear to share some characteristics with giant stars, but astronomers suspect they are actually black holes shrouded in an extraordinarily dense and luminous gas.
These hypothetical objects have been dubbed black hole stars, and the new research, published Wednesday, lays out the case for them.
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