NASA Telescopes Discover Record-Breaking Black Hole
Astronomers have discovered the most distant black hole ever observed in X-rays, located in galaxy UHZ1, over 13 billion light-years away. Using data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope, the findings suggest the black hole was massive at birth, challenging current theories about the early universe’s supermassive black holes.
The extremely remote black hole is located in galaxy UHZ1, discovered 13.2 billion light-years away, when the universe was only 3% of its current age. This monumental discovery, made possible by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope, provides groundbreaking insight into the formation of early supermassive black holes.
Through over two weeks of observations from Chandra, researchers were able to detect X-ray emission from UHZ1, a clear indication of a growing supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy. The X-ray signal was enhanced by a factor of four through gravitational lensing, allowing for the identifying of the distant black hole.
This discovery challenges existing theories about the formation of supermassive black holes in the early universe. The black hole in UHZ1 was born massive, according to astronomers’ estimates, raising questions about how such colossal structures formed from massive clouds of gas in the early universe.
The implications of this research are far-reaching, shedding light on the formation of the earliest supermassive black holes in the cosmos. The groundbreaking discovery is documented in a paper published in Nature Astronomy, authored by a team of astronomers from various research institutions.
As researchers continue to make use of data from the James Webb Space Telescope and other telescopic sources, the hope is to further the understanding of the early universe and the formation of supermassive black holes that have intrigued scientists for decades.