Webb spots most distant active supermassive black hole | Digital Trends

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In addition to observing specific objects such as galaxies and distant planets here in our solar system, the James Webb Space Telescope is also used to perform large-scale surveys of parts of the sky. These surveys look at large swathes of the sky to identify important targets such as very distant and very ancient galaxies, as well as observing intriguing objects such as black holes. And one such survey recently identified the most distant active supermassive black hole seen so far.

While a typical black hole might have a mass up to about 10 times that of the sun, supermassive black holes are much more massive, with a mass that can be millions or even billions of times the mass of the sun. These monsters are found at the heart of galaxies and are believed to play an important role in the formation and merger of galaxies.

There are so many details to explore in this panoramic view, known as the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey. The galaxies that first caught the attention of researchers are those that have not appeared in any other image. Webb was the first to reveal their presence. To find them, he looks for the smallest and reddest dots dotted throughout this survey. The light from some of them traveled over 13 billion years to reach the telescope. The team went on to obtain spectra with Webb, which led to the discovery of the most distant active supermassive black hole currently known, along with two extremely distant active supermassive black holes that existed when the universe was only 1 billion years old. Image NASA, ESA, CSA, Steve Finkelstein (UT Austin), Micaela Bagley (UT Austin), Rebecca Larson (UT Austin); Image Processing Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

A very early example of these supermassive black holes was recently discovered, dating back to just 570 million years after the big bang. Located in a galaxy called CEERS 1019, it was identified as part of a survey called Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) that uses Webb to take huge images of parts of the sky. By looking at regions far from the bright center of the Milky Way and which do not have bright nearby galaxies obscuring the view, the survey can identify very faint and distant objects.

Looking at this distant object with this telescope is a lot like looking at data from black holes that exist in galaxies close to our own, lead researcher Rebecca Larson of the University of Texas at Austin said in a statement.

Webbs CEERS survey image crop. Image NASA, ESA, CSA, Steve Finkelstein (UT Austin), Micaela Bagley (UT Austin), Rebecca Larson (UT Austin); Image Processing Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

The galaxy in which the supermassive black hole resides is also of interest. In the data, it looks like three blobs in a row rather than the single disk you’d expect. This could provide clues about how the galaxy came to be, as a result of colliding with other nearby galaxies.

We weren’t used to seeing so much structure in images at these distances, said CEERS team member Jeyhan Kartaltepe of the Rochester Institute of Technology. A merger of galaxies may be partly responsible for fueling activity in this galaxy’s black hole, which could also lead to more star formation.

In addition to this black hole, CEERS also identified 11 extremely old galaxies, ranging from when the universe was between 470 million and 675 million years old. By studying these very early galaxies, researchers hope to learn how galaxies formed and grew throughout the history of the universe.

Webb was the first to detect some of these galaxies, said Seiji Fujimoto of the University of Texas at Austin. This ensemble, along with other distant galaxies we may identify in the future, could change our understanding of star formation and the evolution of galaxies throughout cosmic history.

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