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JWST Uncovers Ancient Supermassive Black Hole Challenging Cosmology

11/22/2025

Summary

Story summary

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) discovered a supermassive black hole in the galaxy CANUCS-LRD-z8.6, formed about 570 million years after the Big Bang.
The black hole weighs about 100 million solar masses, challenging current ideas about black hole and galaxy formation.
The CANUCS team plans follow-up observations with JWST and Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) to study the galaxy's cold gas and refine the black hole's properties.

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Story summary

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) discovered a supermassive black hole in the galaxy CANUCS-LRD-z8.6, formed about 570 million years after the Big Bang.
The black hole weighs about 100 million solar masses, challenging current ideas about black hole and galaxy formation.
The CANUCS team plans follow-up observations with JWST and Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) to study the galaxy's cold gas and refine the black hole's properties.