Scientists have solved the mystery of the mysterious “little red dots” imaged by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in 2022. Researchers using Webb’s observation tools revealed that these points are actually young supermassive black holes surrounded by clouds of gas.
According to the news in EuroNews; These objects, which have puzzled astronomers for a long time, have not been understood as to what they are energized by because of the unusual light they emit. Early research suggested that the red dots might be extremely dense and distant galaxies that formed very early in the universe. But the new analysis showed that these objects are actually young black holes.
Using the Webb Telescope’s advanced spectroscopic tools, scientists examined how the light from these galaxies was dispersed in different colors. The findings showed that the light was scattered by dense, ionized gas. This is a process that can only occur near a black hole that is actively swallowing matter.
It emits very little X-ray waves
As the gas is attracted to the black hole and falls inwards, it heats up and shines through the surrounding gas cocoon, creating the red glow detected by Webb.
According to researchers, these black holes emit very little X-ray or radio waves because they are surrounded by dense matter. This also explains why they can only be observed by the James Webb Telescope.
The new study, published in the journal Nature, revealed that these young black holes are approximately 100 thousand to 10 million times the mass of the Sun. Although massive, these black holes are much smaller than scientists previously thought and are the lowest-mass black holes known in the early universe.
Source: Newspaper Oxygen