CEERS 1019 is much smaller than other ancient black holes previously discovered. Here's more.
Thanks to the near- and mid-infrared images James Webb has taken, researchers were able to find a supermassive black hole in the galaxy they've dubbed CEERS 1019. They were also able to determine that the black hole has existed merely 570 million years after the Big Bang and that it's around 9 million solar masses. In addition, the data provided by the telescope allowed them to come to the conclusion that the black hole is eating up a lot of gas and churning out new stars.
A graph showing some of the oldest galaxies found by the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey. At 9 million solar masses, this black hole is much smaller than other active supermassive black holes previously discovered. Those celestial objects typically contain more than 1 billion times the mass of the sun, which makes them much brighter and easier to detect. The CEERS 1019 black hole is more similar to the one in the center of our galaxy, which is around 4.6 million times the mass of the sun.
In fact, the CEERS Survey team also found two other ancient but small black holes through their data. The CEERS 746 black hole existed 1 billion years after the Big Bang, while the CEERS 2782 black hole has been around since 1.1 billion years after the event. When viewed through other instruments, these black holes appear as ordinary star-forming galaxies.
Scientists still find it difficult to explain how this black hole formed so soon after the universe began. But in the future, Webb's data could give them the information they need to be able to figure out how early black holes are formed.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
James Webb Space Telescope detects most distant active supermassive black hole ever seenA team of researchers has used the James Webb Space Telescope to uncover the most distant active supermassive black hole seen to date, as well as other finds.
Read more »
James Webb spots most distant active black hole ever observedThe James Webb Space Telescope has captured observations of the most distant active black hole that we've ever found.
Read more »
James Webb telescope discovers the oldest active black hole in the known universeAstronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a feeding supermassive black hole from when the universe was less than 600 million years old.
Read more »
James Webb Space Telescope spots violent collision between neutron starsThe telescope traced an incredibly bright gamma-ray burst to a kilonova, a dramatic event believed to forge heavy elements like gold.
Read more »
James Webb Space Telescope time travels billions of years in amazing 3D visualization (video)The first data release from the CEERS survey features a region known as the Extended Groth Strip and sends viewers back to shortly after the Big Bang.
Read more »