## Ancient, "Nearly Naked" Black Hole Discovered by JWST Could Rewrite Cosmic History **Report Provider:** NDTV **Authors:** NDTV News Desk **Published:** September 2, 2025 (based on `publishedAt` timestamp) **Topic:** Science (Space) **Keywords:** Black hole, NASA, Big Bang ### Key Findings and Conclusions: Astronomers, utilizing NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), have identified an ancient black hole, designated **QSO1**, that appears to have formed without a preceding galaxy. This discovery challenges current theories of cosmic formation, suggesting that black holes may have played a more fundamental role in the early universe than previously understood. * **"Nearly Naked" Black Hole:** Professor Roberto Maiolino of the University of Cambridge described the black hole as "nearly naked," indicating a lack of surrounding galactic material. This suggests it formed *before* a galaxy developed around it. * **Challenge to Existing Theories:** The prevailing scientific understanding was that stars and galaxies formed first, and black holes emerged later from the collapse of the earliest stars. This new observation suggests a reversed or concurrent formation process. * **Primordial Black Hole Candidate:** If confirmed as a primordial black hole, QSO1 would support the theory that these objects formed directly after the Big Bang from the collapse of dense regions of space. These early black holes could have acted as seeds for the formation of the first galaxies. * **"Little Red Dots":** QSO1 is one of several "little red dots" observed by JWST. These objects are characterized by their redness, small size, and brightness, leading astronomers to believe they are ancient supermassive black holes. ### Key Statistics and Metrics: * **Age of QSO1:** More than **13 billion years old**. * **Age of the Universe at Formation:** The universe was approximately **700 million years old** when QSO1 formed. * **Mass of QSO1:** **50 million times the mass of the Sun**. * **Mass of Surrounding Material:** Less than **half the mass** of the black hole. * **Composition of Surrounding Gas:** Primarily **hydrogen and helium**, with very few heavier elements, indicating minimal star formation in its vicinity. ### Important Context and Implications: The discovery of QSO1 is considered a "paradigm change" by Professor Maiolino. The observation that a massive black hole exists with little surrounding galactic material is highly unusual. * **Direct Collapse Hypothesis:** One potential explanation is the "direct collapse" of a massive gas cloud into a black hole without forming stars. However, this process requires very specific conditions that are not evident in the observed data for QSO1, making the primordial black hole theory more plausible. * **Early Universe Formation:** The presence of such a massive black hole so early in the universe's history has been a long-standing puzzle for scientists. This finding could provide a crucial piece of the puzzle regarding the formation of the first structures in the cosmos. ### Notable Risks or Concerns: * **Confirmation Required:** While the evidence is compelling, the classification of QSO1 as a primordial black hole requires further confirmation. This discovery, made possible by the advanced capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope, has the potential to significantly alter our understanding of the universe's earliest moments and the fundamental processes that led to the formation of galaxies and black holes.
This Massive Black Hole May Have Formed In Early Big Bang Era
Read original at NDTV →Astronomers have identified an ancient and "nearly naked" black hole using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). If confirmed as a primordial black hole, it could change what we know about the formation of the universe."This black hole is nearly naked," Professor Roberto Maiolino, a cosmologist at the University of Cambridge and part of the observing team, said, as per The Guardian.
"This is really challenging for the theories. It seems that this black hole has formed without being preceded by a galaxy around it."Primordial black holes are thought to have formed after the Big Bang, when hot, dense areas of space collapsed under their own gravity. These early black holes may have helped gas and dust come together to form the first galaxies.
Until now, scientists thought stars and galaxies formed first, and black holes appeared later when the earliest stars ran out of fuel and collapsed.The new observations focus on a small, red object called QSO1. It is more than 13 billion years old, from a time when the universe was just 700 million years old.
Astronomers say QSO1 is one of several "little red dots" found by JWST.These dots are so red, small and bright that they are likely ancient supermassive black holes. Usually, black holes start small and grow by consuming stars. Scientists have been puzzled about how such huge black holes could exist so early in the universe, according to the Arxiv website.
Even though QSO1 is very far away, astronomers measured the speed of the gas and dust around it. They found the black hole has a mass of 50 million times that of the Sun, while the surrounding material is less than half as massive.The gas around the black hole is almost entirely hydrogen and helium, the elements left over from the Big Bang, according to a separate research.
There are very few heavier elements, which form in stars, showing that little star formation has happened nearby."These results are a paradigm change," Professor Maiolino said. "Here we're witnessing a massive black hole formed without much of a galaxy, as far as we can say from the data."One possible explanation is that a huge cloud of gas collapsed directly into a black hole without forming stars.
But this "direct collapse" needs very specific conditions, which are not seen here. This makes the primordial black hole idea slightly more likely.
