Astronomers have identified what could be an entirely new type of astrophysical object — a colossal “black hole star” from the early universe. An extremely bright red spot, it combines the appearance of an enormous star with the extraordinary energy output of a black hole.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, and collaborating institutions have published a paper in Nature detailing the discovery of the object using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Known as MoM-BH*-1, the brilliant red source existed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago.

The discovery could also provide a long-awaited explanation for the mysterious “ little red dots ” that have appeared repeatedly in JWST observations of the distant universe.

Black Hole Star Is Unlike Any Known Star

MoM-BH*-1 appears to be roughly the size of our solar system, giving it the dimensions of an extraordinarily large star. Its energy output, however, is far beyond what conventional stellar physics can explain.

According to the researchers, the object is producing around 100 billion times more energy than any known star could physically generate. “You have something that looks a bit like a star but is 100 billion times brighter,” said lead author Rohan Naidu, a NASA Hubble Fellow and Pappalardo Fellow at MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. “That means you can’t be powering this by nuclear fusion, which is the energy source that sits at the heart of all the stars we have.” That enormous output led researchers to consider a radically different power source: a black hole.

Central Black Hole Could Power Cosmic Giant

Computer simulations suggest MoM-BH*-1 contains a black hole approximately 100,000 times the mass of the sun. Instead of being exposed like many actively feeding black holes, it appears to be wrapped inside an exceptionally dense envelope of hydrogen. The cocoon is approximately the size of the solar system and behaves in some ways like the atmosphere of a gigantic star.

This combination — a powerful accreting black hole surrounded by a dense, star-like atmosphere—has never been observed before.

JWST Little Red Dots May Finally Be Explained

The discovery could have implications well beyond a single object. Since JWST began studying the distant cosmos, astronomers have repeatedly encountered compact and unusually red objects nicknamed “little red dots.” They appear frequently in observations of the early universe but largely disappear at later cosmic times. “What exactly these objects are has been one of the most debated topics of the JWST era,” said Naidu. Researchers now suggest that black hole stars could potentially explain many of them.

MoM-BH*-1 is particularly striking because its black hole star component appears to overwhelm the light of its surrounding host galaxy, allowing astronomers to study the object with relatively little interference.

How The ‘Black Hole Star’ Was Found

Researchers found the object while searching for the most distant, earliest galaxies. Researchers detected a very red, very bright dot. “When we see something very red in the universe, we often assume that it is surrounded by dust, like soot or ash,” said co-author Robert Simcoe, MKI Director and Bruno B. Rossi Professor of Experimental Physics. “The same way that the wildfire smoke from Canada recently made the sky in Boston look bright red, astronomical objects can also appear redder than their intrinsic color when you see them through a veil of dust.”

However, the researchers also noticed a sharp change in its brightness, something associated with dense hydrogen absorbing particular wavelengths of light, but to an extreme extent. “The break we observed in this object is the deepest break we have ever observed in any object, ruling out ‘ordinary’ stars as the source,” said Naidu. “But it made us wonder if we were seeing a new kind of ‘stellar atmosphere,’ but on a spectacular scale.” It also showed almost no evidence of elements other than hydrogen and helium.

Their simulations suggested the red dot could be a powerful energy source surrounded by an extremely dense cocoon of hydrogen. More simulations using an actively feeding black hole indicated that MoM-BH*-1 may be the first “black hole star.”

“Every little red dot is consistent with being a black hole star, embedded in a generic early galaxy,” said Naidu about JWST’s images. “But what is special about MoM-BH*-1 is, the black hole star is essentially completely outshining its surrounding host galaxy, such that we’re seeing pure black hole star light.”

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.