JWST Spots a Bizarre “Black Hole Star” 100 Billion Times Brighter than a Star
Researchers say the object is powered by an accreting black hole inside gas, a model that could explain 100 little red dots studied so far.
- On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, researchers published a study in Nature identifying MoM-BH*-1, a "black hole star" observed by the James Webb Space Telescope . Existing 660 million years after the Big Bang, the object produces roughly 100 billion times more energy than any known star.
- Led by astronomer Rohan Naidu, the team initially sought early galaxies through the 'Mirage or Miracle' survey, investigating mysterious "little red dots" that appeared unexpectedly in JWST imagery. Researchers initially assumed the red color resulted from dust obscuring light.
- Simulations revealed the object contains a central black hole with a mass roughly 100,000 times that of the Sun, surrounded by a dense hydrogen cocoon the size of our solar system. This structure accounts for both the object's star-like appearance and its immense energy output.
- This finding may explain the mysterious "little red dots" appearing throughout deep space images, which essentially disappear by the present day. MoM-BH*-1 could be a missing link in understanding how supermassive black holes grew in the early universe.
- Astronomers expect MoM-BH*-1 is the first example of a broader population of "black hole stars." Naidu noted that the team is "excited to be studying a new kind of astrophysical object," suggesting the discovery may reshape understanding of early cosmic evolution.
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12 Articles
Astronomers Found a Cosmic Object 100 Billion Times Brighter Than a Normal Star
Black holes and stars are two different things, except when suddenly they aren’t. a team of MIT researchers recently found and described in the journal Nature. The object, called MoM-BH*-1, may be an entirely new kind of cosmic entity: a “black hole star.” The discovery began with the James Webb Space Telescope, which has been […] The post Astronomers Found a Cosmic Object 100 Billion Times Brighter Than a Normal Star appeared first on VICE.
For years astronomers have been puzzled about small red dots in photographs of the early universe. A find of the James Webb Space Telescope provides a possible explanation.
DECRYPTAGE - Astronomers have observed what appears to be a gas structure billions of times larger than the Sun, hosting a black hole in its heart.
JWST spots a bizarre “black hole star” 100 billion times brighter than a star
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a bizarre object from just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang that looks like an enormous star but shines far too brightly to actually be one. The mysterious red object, dubbed a “black hole star,” may contain a black hole about 100,000 times the mass of the Sun wrapped inside a dense, star-like cocoon of hydrogen roughly the size of our solar system.
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