Strange red dots in the early universe may be new kind of space object

Astronomers have a brand new clarification for mysterious “little red dots” noticed within the early universe: Possibly they don’t seem to be crowded star clusters that upend every part scientists find out about galaxies. Possibly they’re really one thing new.

Researchers are calling the space objects “black gap stars” — large spheres of fuel wrapped round voracious black holes. 

Usually, black holes are invisible, however fuel and mud swirling towards them can get heated to hundreds of thousands of levels, giving off very brilliant gentle — generally capable of outshine a galaxy. These are normally known as quasars, a portmanteau for “quasi-stellar objects.” The thought right here is that the identical course of is occurring however inside a large fuel shell, in line with a brand new examine by NASA‘s James Webb Space Telescope. 

Maybe the band Soundgarden, which irked a couple of astronomers within the ’90s with the dubiously named observe “Black Hole Sun,” acquired it proper in spite of everything. 

“Little crimson dots as an alternative seem to have a lot colder, and far denser, fuel, a lot in order that they give the impression of being similar to the atmospheres on the surfaces of stars,” Joel Leja, a Penn State astrophysics professor and one of many researchers, advised Mashable. “That is tremendous shocking and why the primary examine on the little crimson dots thought they had been galaxies stuffed with previous, cool stars — they successfully appear to be one very luminous, chilly star.”

When the “little crimson dots” had been first discovered in 2022, scientists thought the objects is likely to be galaxies as mature because the Milky Manner, which is about 13.6 billion years previous. That is as a result of galaxies are inclined to get redder as the celebrities inside them age. 

However that interpretation was mind-boggling, given astronomers are seeing the dots as they had been when the universe was just some hundred-million years previous. How, then, might they’ve grown up so quick?

The universe is believed to have begun 13.8 billion years ago, shortly thereafter forming the primary stars and galaxies. Their historic gentle nonetheless travels via area, albeit at infrared wavelengths — invisible to human eyes, however Webb can detect them with its delicate devices. By capturing gentle that has traveled for billions of years, Webb is actually a time machine, giving scientists a glimpse on the previous. 

The new study, printed in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, concerned taking knowledge from 4,500 distant galaxies. Throughout that yearlong survey, the workforce nicknamed probably the most excessive object they discovered “The Cliff.”

The Cliff’s sign seemed like that of a star, the researchers mentioned, however Webb revealed it as twice as sturdy as something seen earlier than. The Cliff appeared too small for a galaxy — solely about 40 light-years extensive — and it wasn’t giving off X-rays, making the star cluster clarification even much less probably.

The examine as an alternative confirmed the crimson glow may very well be a supermassive black gap in disguise, pulling in materials so rapidly that it surrounded itself in a scorching ball of hydrogen fuel. That ball adjustments the looks of the black gap’s surrounding gentle in order that it appears extra like a star. That is how the workforce got here up with the title “black gap star.”

A analysis workforce has a brand new thought about little crimson dots noticed within the early universe by the James Webb Area Telescope.
Credit score: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / Dale Kocevski

However mysteries stay. The scientists additionally see indicators of extremely popular, fast-moving materials in the identical small area.

“How can extremely popular fuel and really cool fuel all fortunately coexist in the identical tiny quantity of area?” Leja requested. “It’s a giant puzzle, and the items don’t but all match collectively.”

Future observations, particularly in search of atoms and molecules that may solely kind at these cooler temperatures, will assist check the concept. If confirmed, black gap stars could maintain the secrets and techniques to how the very first black holes had been capable of develop so quick within the early universe. Nobody but is aware of the origins of gigantic black holes on the facilities of galaxies. This will likely signify the primary section of their formation.

“For this reason we do massive initiatives like James Webb — we at all times hope to watch one thing surprising. It means we actually are going to study one thing new, on this case possibly a whole lot of new issues,” Leja mentioned. “It’s simply probably the most thrilling factor for individuals like me.”