Monster Black Hole Defies Physics, Growing at Unprecedented Rate
Astronomers are puzzled by the rapid growth of a supermassive black hole located 12.8 billion light-years from Earth, which is expanding at 2.4 times the rate previously considered possible by theoretical models. The revelation, detailed in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, challenges current understandings of black hole accretion and early universe galactic development.
The black hole is being observed as it existed only 920 million years after the Big Bang, in a period when the universe was still in its infancy.Its light has taken 12.8 billion years to reach Earth, offering a glimpse into the cosmos’s early stages.
Black holes are regions of spacetime with gravitational pulls so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. They are thought to form from the collapse of massive gas clouds or dying stars, and often reside at the centers of galaxies, influencing the orbits of surrounding stars.
Imaging black holes is a monumental task. The first-ever image of a black hole was only achieved in 2019, utilizing a global network of Earth-based telescopes. Despite the difficulty, scientists estimate a high probability – 90 percent – of observing a black hole explosion within the next 10 years, with a “good chance” of witnessing one by 2035. Telescopes both in space and on Earth will be poised to capture such an event.
