Are 'Little Red Dots' actually stars? JWST reveals a cosmic mirage.
In short: Astronomers are using the James Webb Space Telescope to solve a mystery of the early universe: mysterious red dots that appear everywhere but vanish today. New data suggests these aren't just galaxies, but exotic 'black hole stars.'
Researchers identified a specific object, GLIMPSE-17775, which provides strong evidence for the 'black hole star' (BH*) model. This phenomenon consists of a supermassive black hole—estimated at 100,000 times the mass of our sun—shrouded in an enormous envelope of gas so large it resembles a star the size of our solar system.
While many early universe objects are 'mirages' caused by dust obscuring their true colors, these BH* objects produce light through accretion. The black hole feeds on the surrounding gas cloud, energizing it from within to glow like a red giant. One specific discovery, MoM-BH*-1, is considered a 'naked' black hole star because it exists independently of a burgeoning galaxy. The video explores these findings using JWST data, highlighting how spectral signatures like the 'Balmer break' help distinguish these objects from standard galaxies or dust-covered stars.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: JWST Evidence That We Found Exotic Black Hole Stars After All
- Also: Astronomers discover a brand-new type of astrophysical object: A black hole star
- Also: NASA Webb Finds Strongest Evidence Yet for ‘Black Hole Stars’ - NASA Science
- Also: Farthest
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