Scientists Discover Ancient , Supermassive Black Hole , Near Center of the Universe.
'Newsweek' reports that the James Webb Telescope has now captured images of the most distant active supermassive black hole ever observed.
The gargantuan black hole was found at the center of a galaxy known as CEERS 1019.
The distant galaxy existed 570 million years after our universe was created via the big bang.
How the black hole came into existence so soon after the universe was born remains a mystery, 'Newsweek' reports.
According to findings published in 'The Astrophysical Journal Letters,' the black hole is approximately 9 million solar masses.
Despite being "supermassive," this black hole is far smaller than other black holes discovered near the origin of the universe.
Typically, the most ancient black holes have been found to have a mass about 1 billion times greater than our sun.
According to a team from the University of Texas at Austin, the black hole at the center of CEERS 1019 is just 4.6 million times the mass of the sun.
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It is similar in size to the black hole that lies at the center of our own Milky Way Galaxy.
We're not used to seeing so much structure in images at these distances, Jeyhan Kartaltepe, associate professor of astronomy at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, via 'Newsweek'.
A galaxy merger could be partly responsible for fueling the activity in this galaxy's black hole, and that could also lead to increased star formation, Jeyhan Kartaltepe, associate professor of astronomy at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, via 'Newsweek'.
A galaxy merger could be partly responsible for fueling the activity in this galaxy's black hole, and that could also lead to increased star formation, Jeyhan Kartaltepe, associate professor of astronomy at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, via 'Newsweek'
