Another day, another incredible space discovery.
Scientists studying the universe via NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have uncovered the oldest ever black hole - and it's absolutely massive.
We've already got an unusual, high-speed object hurtling through our Solar System to contend with. But fortunately, this latest discovery is 13.3 billion light years away - so it might not pose a threat to us, but our ancestors in the very, very far future may have something to worry about.
A team of international scientists detected the black hole at the center of a universe called CAPERS-LRD-z9.
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The hole is so huge, it's up to 300 million times the mass of our Sun - which is pretty big in itself. Prepare to feel existential as I put this into perspective.
The Sun has a diameter of 1.39 million kilometers - which the same as around 109 Earths lined up side-by-side.
If the Sun were the size of a standard front door, Earth would be about the size of a nickel. So, in comparison, this black hole would be like a skyscraper taller than Mount Everest.
Scientists reckon it formed around 500 million years after the Big Bang, and it essentially means we're looking back in time when witnessing it.
That's because light from that far away took over 13 billion years to reach us - so technically we're seeing it as it was back then. Existential yet?
Another comparison; the Sun is 8.3 light-minutes away, meaning whenever we look at it (not that we should!), we're viewing it as of eight minutes ago.
How the black hole was discovered
Scientists at University of Texas at Austin discovered the black hole using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope - which also found its surrounding universe.
Their findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on August 6.
Astronomers used a method called spectroscopy, which splits light into different wavelengths and colors.
By studying this separated light, scientists can spot the distinct signatures of stars, galaxies and other cosmic objects - a bit like a detective dusting for fingerprints. Black holes consume surrounding dust and matter, which gets compressed and heated as it spirals inward.
This energetic process leaves clear traces in the light, making it detectable through spectroscopy, explained study co-author Steven Finkelstein, professor of astronomy at the University.
“We look for these signatures of very fast-moving gas,” he said. “We’re talking about velocities of 1,000, 2,000, sometimes even 3,000 kilometers per second. "Nothing else in the universe moves that fast, so we know it has to be gas around a black hole.”
What else could be out there?
Scientists are hoping that studying the CAPERS-LRD-z9 galaxy might help them answer some key questions about the black hole.
Most pressing is how it was birthed so early on in the universe's creation, and how it came to be so huge.
It's believed researchers will discover black holes of the same age in the distant universe; or maybe even ones that are older.
“We only ever survey very tiny areas of the sky with the James Webb Space Telescope,” Finkelstein said. “So, if we find one thing, there’s got to be a lot more out there.”
Topics: Space, Black Hole, NASA, Science
Ellie Kemp