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JWST Measures 50-Million-Solar-Mass Black Hole, Dominates Early Galaxy

5/29/2026

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Summary

Story summary

JWST directly measured a supermassive black hole’s mass within the first billion years after the Big Bang.
The ~50-million-solar-mass black hole in galaxy QSO1, 13 billion light-years away, makes up at least two-thirds of the galaxy’s mass.
Lensing by Abell 2744 magnified QSO1 threefold, letting JWST’s NIRSpec IFU map gas motion and supporting heavy-seed or direct-collapse formation scenarios.

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Story summary

JWST directly measured a supermassive black hole’s mass within the first billion years after the Big Bang.
The ~50-million-solar-mass black hole in galaxy QSO1, 13 billion light-years away, makes up at least two-thirds of the galaxy’s mass.
Lensing by Abell 2744 magnified QSO1 threefold, letting JWST’s NIRSpec IFU map gas motion and supporting heavy-seed or direct-collapse formation scenarios.