Scientists published a Nature paper on Wednesday arguing that MoM-BH*-1 may be a black hole star, a Black Hole Star Discovery based on James Webb Space Telescope observations. The object appears as one of the bright reddish spots in the early universe, but its light does not fit a normal star.
Rohan Naidu, the study’s lead author, said MoM-BH*-1 is essentially completely outshining its surrounding host galaxy. He also said, “Every little red dot is consistent with being a black hole star, embedded in a generic early galaxy. But what is special about MoM-BH*-1 is that the black hole star is essentially completely outshining its surrounding host galaxy, such that we’re seeing pure black hole star light.”
MoM-BH*-1 in James Webb Space Telescope images
MoM-BH*-1 comes from a time when the universe was 660 million years old, when the cosmos was still very young compared with its almost 14 billion years of age today. In James Webb Space Telescope images, the object looks like a bright red spot about the size of our solar system.
The team said it emits about 100 billion times more energy than any star could produce through nuclear fusion. That level of output is why the paper points to something other than an ordinary star.
Black hole star hypothesis
Under the black hole star idea, a black hole at the center of MoM-BH*-1 would be swallowing matter and releasing huge amounts of energy. Dense gas around it would absorb part of the light and give the escaping energy the qualities expected in starlight.
The James Webb Space Telescope has found many small red spots in the early universe, and scientists have proposed several explanations for them. The MoM-BH*-1 paper adds a new one: a black hole hidden inside an extremely dense gas envelope that makes the object behave like a star from the outside.
MoM-BH*-1 follows-up
The key question now is whether follow-up observations and analysis will show that MoM-BH*-1 is truly a black hole star. For astronomers studying the early universe, the object is a test case for how far a black hole and its gas envelope can go before they look like an ordinary source of starlight.
