Astronomers Identify a New Cosmic Class: The “Black Hole Star”

On August 12, an international team announced the detection of an unprecedented object in Cetus, about 30 billion light-years away. Designated MoM-BH*-1, it spans roughly the size of our solar system yet emits an energy output estimated at 100 billion times that of any known star. The team argues the source is a black hole surrounded by dense gas, causing it to radiate like a star while retaining a black-hole-like energetic signature.

The Straits Times

Since the James Webb Space Telescope began operations in 2022, researchers have catalogued numerous “little red dots” (LRDs) in deep-field images of the early universe. These compact, intensely red sources have puzzled scientists because their brightness seemed inconsistent with the era’s nascent galaxies. MoM-BH*-1 emerged while the team was investigating why JWST detects massive galaxies only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.

The Guardian

• Location: Cetus, ~30 billion light-years away.

The Guardian

• Age: Formed roughly 660 million years after the Big Bang.

The Guardian

• Physical extent: Comparable to the diameter of the solar system.

The Guardian

• Energy output: About 100 billion times greater than the most luminous known star, aligning more closely with black-hole emissions.

The Straits Times

• Spectral feature: A pronounced Balmer break—light abruptly vanishes below a specific wavelength—indicating a gas-dominated environment.

Gizmodo

Co-author Robert Simcoe (MIT) explained that while red coloration often suggests dust, MoM-BH*-1’s spectrum points to a massive cloud of ionized hydrogen gas, ruling out dust as the primary cause. Simulations support a scenario in which a central black hole, shrouded by dense gas, radiates with stellar-like brightness, outshining its host galaxy.

Gizmodo

If black-hole stars are common among LRDs, they could represent an embryonic phase of the supermassive black holes that now anchor virtually every galaxy, including the Milky Way. Their existence may reshape theories of early-universe structure formation and influence when stars and planets first appear.

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• “We have found a new type of astrophysical object, a black hole star,” — Dr Rohan Naidu, lead author

The Guardian

• “You can’t be powering this by nuclear fusion, which is the energy source that sits at the heart of all the stars,” — Rohan Naidu

The Straits Times

The team has secured additional JWST time slated to begin in December. Upcoming measurements aim to refine the object’s mass, probe its gas envelope, and determine whether similar red-shifted sources share the same characteristics.

The Straits Times