A Space Mystery Leads Astronomers to Discover a New Type of 'Black Hole Star' in Our Universe
Researchers say MoM-BH*-1 emits about 100 billion times more energy than any known star and may be powered by a growing black hole.
- On August 12, 2026, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers announced the discovery of a new astronomical object called a 'black hole star,' identified using the James Webb Space Telescope and named MoM-BH*-1.
- Since 2022, astronomers have struggled to explain 'Little Red Dots' spotted in early universe images; these mysterious objects were too massive to be regular stars and too dim to be classified as galaxies.
- Rather than nuclear fusion, MoM-BH*-1 is powered by a central black hole 100,000 times the sun's mass and stretches to the size of our solar system, producing around 100 billion times more energy than any known star.
- Lead author Rohan Naidu, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii, noted the object is 'outshining its surrounding host galaxy, such that we're seeing pure black hole star light,' potentially explaining the mysterious LRDs.
- Scientists suspect LRDs may be mini-galaxies with black hole stars at their cores, though researchers caution that more study is required before confidently confirming this theory across all observed objects.
34 Articles
34 Articles
A space mystery leads astronomers to discover a new type of 'black hole star' in our universe
Last week, an international team of researchers published a study in which they may have solved a yearslong space riddle involving unassuming red dots in far-off space.
Black hole star? Solar-system-size 'dot' from the early universe is our best evidence yet of a brand-new type of cosmic object
Astronomers have found the most promising candidate yet for a "black hole star," a new type of astrophysical object lurking in the early universe's "cosmic dawn." If confirmed, the findings could help to unravel the mysterious origin of "little red dots" (LRDs), an infamous group of hundreds of distant, crimson lights spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). These dots, which are almost as old as the universe itself, shine much brighter…
Astronomers discover a black hole star, a new type of object
Astronomers believe the little red dots we see in the early universe are a newly discovered type of object called a black hole star. The post Astronomers discover a black hole star, a new type of object first appeared on EarthSky.
Astronomers claim to have discovered a new type of cosmic object, a "black hole star", which is the size of the entire solar system and shines with bright red light.
An astrophysicist team has just identified an exceptionally bright red object dating back to the early ages of the Universe. At first glance, it looks like a gigantic star whose dimensions are comparable to those of our solar system. Its energy efficiency, however, is extraordinary. This object produces about 100 billion times as much energy as any known star could physically generate, bringing it closer to the levels associated with black holes…
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