Oldest Black Hole ever Discovered Challenges Cosmic Formation Theories
Jakarta, Indonesia – July 29, 2025 – Astronomers have identified the most distant and oldest black hole ever observed, dating back to just 300 million years after the big Bang. The finding, made using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), is forcing scientists to reconsider existing models of black hole formation in the early universe. The black hole, residing within a galaxy designated as GN-z11, is estimated to be several million times the mass of our Sun.
This finding is particularly surprising given the limited amount of matter available in the early universe. Current theories suggest that black holes grow by accreting matter, a process that would have been considerably slower in the nascent cosmos. The sheer size of this ancient black hole implies either an exceptionally rapid growth rate or a fundamentally diffrent formation mechanism than previously understood.
“This adds evidence that the initial black hole grew much faster than we thought. or maybe thay were born wiht a size far larger than our model predicted,” explained Steven Finkelstein, Director of the Cosmic Frontier Center at the University of Texas at Austin and a lead author of the study, published in the journal Nature on July 28, 2025.
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Unraveling the Mystery of ‘little Red Dots’
The research team is now focusing on a population of faint, red galaxies, nicknamed “Little Red Dots” (LRDs), observed by JWST. These galaxies, unlike those previously seen by the Hubble Space Telescope, appear surprisingly bright in the infrared spectrum.The ancient black hole was discovered within one of these LRDs.
“The discovery of LRD is a big surprise from JWSTS initial data, because they are very different from the galaxy seen by the Hubble telescope,” said Finkelstein. “Now, we are in the process of understanding what they realy are, and how they can be formed.” further observations with JWST’s high-resolution capabilities are planned to determine the exact nature of these LRDs and their role in early black hole formation.
The team utilized JWST’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) instruments to analyze the light from GN-z11, determining its redshift – a measure of how much the light has been stretched by the expansion of the universe – and thus its distance and age.
The discovery of this oldest black hole represents a important advancement in modern cosmology. It challenges the limits of current observational technology and prompts a re-evaluation of theories regarding black hole formation in the early universe. The GN-z11 galaxy is located approximately 13.4 billion light-years from Earth.
With JWST continuing its observations, astronomers anticipate discovering more similar ancient black holes, each discovery bringing us closer to understanding the origins of the universe and the evolution of galaxies. The research was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and NASA.
Read too: What is our universe trapped in a black hole?
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