The incredible discovery of an "extremely red" supermassive black hole in our early universe, made with the help of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), opens new horizons in the understanding of the cosmos and the evolution of galaxies. About 700 million years after the Big Bang, this supermassive black hole revealed to us that our universe is full of unexpected wonders and complexity.
The black hole's distinctive red hue is a direct effect of the expansion of the universe, which stretches the wavelengths of light toward the red end of the spectrum. This "redshift" indicates the presence of a dense cloud of gas and dust surrounding the black hole, giving us valuable clues about the environment in which it is developing.
Astronomers Lukas Furtak and Adi Zitrin, from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, by analyzing data provided by JWST, were able to calculate the impressive mass of this supermassive black hole – about 40 million times that of the Sun. The discovery that this black hole is unusually massive for its host galaxy adds a new layer of mystery to the formation and growth of black holes in the early universe.
The INCREDIBLE Black Hole that Impressed Scientists, Reveals a Secret of the Universe
Located 12,9 billion light-years from Earth, this supermassive black hole is rapidly consuming the gas and dust around it, growing in mass. The process of accretion, in which matter is attracted and consumed by the black hole, generates intense temperatures and makes this cosmic object shine brightly, similar to quasars, which are some of the brightest objects in the universe.
Quasars form when supermassive black holes, like the one discovered, attract large amounts of matter that form an accretion disk around them. The enormous gravity of the black hole mixes this matter, producing very high temperatures and intense luminosity. Moreover, materials that are not consumed by the black hole are ejected into space in the form of powerful jets, contributing to the spectacular phenomenon observed.
This supermassive black hole, with its small dot-like appearance in the JWST data, was identified as an unusual object, different from the usual quasars discovered in the early universe. The contribution of the JWST telescope, with the help of the gravitational lensing effect predicted by Einstein, has amplified the light from this black hole, allowing us to observe it in detail.
The discovery was made possible by using a group of galaxies as a "lensing object", which amplified the light from the background galaxies, thus revealing the extremely red quasar. This technique, along with JWST's unique ability to observe in the infrared, has allowed us to look back in time at crucial moments in the history of our universe, giving us a window into the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes.
This discovery not only enriches our knowledge of the cosmos, but also raises new questions about the nature of black holes and their role in the evolution of the universe. As JWST continues to explore the depths of space, we can expect more revelations to fascinate and challenge our understanding of the cosmos.
