Scientists Discover Ancient , Supermassive Black Hole , Near Center of the Universe.
'Newsweek' reports that the James Webb Telescope
has now captured images of the most distant
active supermassive black hole ever observed.
The gargantuan black hole
was found at the center of
a galaxy known as CEERS 1019.
The distant galaxy existed
570 million years after our universe
was created via the big bang.
How the black hole came into existence
so soon after the universe was born
remains a mystery, 'Newsweek' reports.
According to findings published in
'The Astrophysical Journal Letters,' the black hole
is approximately 9 million solar masses.
Despite being "supermassive," this
black hole is far smaller than other black holes
discovered near the origin of the universe.
Typically, the most ancient black holes
have been found to have a mass about
1 billion times greater than our sun.
According to a team from the University of Texas
at Austin, the black hole at the center of CEERS 1019
is just 4.6 million times the mass of the sun. .
It is similar in size to the black hole
that lies at the center of our
own Milky Way Galaxy.
We're not used to seeing so much
structure in images at these distances, Jeyhan Kartaltepe, associate professor of astronomy at the
Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, via 'Newsweek'.
A galaxy merger could be partly
responsible for fueling the activity in
this galaxy's black hole, and that could
also lead to increased star formation, Jeyhan Kartaltepe, associate professor of astronomy at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, via 'Newsweek'.
A galaxy merger could be partly
responsible for fueling the activity in
this galaxy's black hole, and that could
also lead to increased star formation, Jeyhan Kartaltepe, associate professor of astronomy at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, via 'Newsweek'