Story perspectives

JWST, Chandra Spot Distant X-Ray Dot, Gas Gaps Reveal

4/30/2026

Summary

Story summary

United States astronomers using JWST and Chandra identified X-ray source 3DHST-AEGIS-12014 matching a red dot 11.8 billion light-years away that has been in Chandra data for over ten years.
Harvard’s Anna de Graaf measured the dots as a few hundred light-years across and 3,092-6,692 °F.
Lead author Raphael Hviding says gas gaps create a transition that lets X-rays escape, producing brightness changes as rotating gas shifts the gaps, according to co-author Hanpu Liu.

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Story summary

United States astronomers using JWST and Chandra identified X-ray source 3DHST-AEGIS-12014 matching a red dot 11.8 billion light-years away that has been in Chandra data for over ten years.
Harvard’s Anna de Graaf measured the dots as a few hundred light-years across and 3,092-6,692 °F.
Lead author Raphael Hviding says gas gaps create a transition that lets X-rays escape, producing brightness changes as rotating gas shifts the gaps, according to co-author Hanpu Liu.