Astronomers Identify Unusual Black-Hole Star Candidate Using JWST

Astronomers analyzing data from the James Webb Space Telescope’s Mirage or Miracle survey have reported a luminous object that may represent a hybrid of a black hole and a star. The source, designated MoM-BH*-1, appears as a bright red point in images of the early universe and features a gas cloud roughly the size of the solar system surrounding a black hole estimated to be about 100,000 times the mass of the Sun. Researchers say the object emits roughly 100 times more energy than typical stellar formations and outshines its host galaxy.

"Our picture of this object is evolving very rapidly," said Rohan Naidu, an astrophysicist at MIT and lead author of the study published in Nature.

"It is a very special thing to find an object with no comparison given the vast stores of data on billions of stars, galaxies, and black holes that we have in our archival databases. MoM-BH*-1 is one in a billion!"

The discovery could help explain the nature of numerous small, red sources observed by JWST in the first two billion years after the Big Bang, which have been hypothesized to be supermassive stars, early galaxies, or heavily enshrouded black holes. The team suggests that the red color of these sources may result from gas rather than dust, a factor that could account for the unexpectedly large masses of early supermassive black holes. Further observations with JWST are planned for later this year to determine the object's dimensions and atmospheric composition.