Astronomers have identified a new celestial object called a black hole star that could clarify the nature of unusually bright red objects detected in the early universe. The object, labeled MoM-BH-1, resembles a star about the size of the solar system yet releases energy roughly 100 billion times greater than the Sun, matching the output of a black hole. A United States-led team found it with the James Webb Space Telescope. The study, released in Nature, places the object at roughly 660 million years after the Big Bang. Since the telescope started work in 2022, it has recorded several very bright early-universe sources nicknamed little red dots, whose properties had stayed unclear. The lead researcher stated that identifying these sources has been among the most discussed issues since the telescope began operations. The team made the discovery while examining how some young galaxies grew unusually bright and massive soon after the Big Bang. During image review they noticed another little red dot. Scientists first suspected dust caused the red color, since dust commonly reddens distant objects by scattering light, much like wildfire smoke alters sky color. Spectral checks, however, showed missing light at certain wavelengths, ruling out dust. Hydrogen gas instead shaped the observed light. This finding raised the question of the energy source, which cannot be nuclear fusion as in ordinary stars. Computer models indicated the object is most likely powered by a central black hole enclosed in a thick cocoon of gas, giving it the outward appearance of a giant star.
