To 'Infinity' and Beyond: Direct Evidence of Black Hole Birth Found in Galaxy Named 'Infinity'
INFINITY GALAXY, JUL 15 – The supermassive black hole, about 1 million times the mass of the Sun, formed from gas collapse between two colliding galaxies, supporting the direct collapse black hole theory.
- On July 15, 2025 the paper revealed a newborn supermassive black hole in the Infinity Galaxy, formed by galaxy collision, supporting direct collapse theories.
- The 'heavy seeds' theory posits that a gas cloud collapsed directly into a supermassive black hole, supporting the direct collapse hypothesis, as gas shocks from galaxy collisions can create dense knots that form black holes.
- Keck Observatory's Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer measured the spectra, providing the black hole’s location, distance, and a mass of about one million solar masses, said Pieter van Dokkum.
- “This is as close to a smoking gun as we're likely ever going to get,” said Pieter van Dokkum, with the finding having implications for early universe black hole formation debates.
- Later this fall, the team plans to use Keck Observatory’s adaptive optics, which could confirm the black hole's formation mechanism and its broader role in galaxy evolution.
11 Articles
11 Articles
The JWST Might Have Found the First Direct-Collapse Black Hole
Stellar mass black holes are created by core-collapse supernovae. These occur when massive stars near the end of their lives collapse in on themselves and form a black hole. Supermassive black holes form through mergers with other massive black holes. But their could be a third kind, called direct-collapse black holes, and the JWST found evidence of one.
Astronomers Discover Uncommon Way for Black Holes to Form
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope continues to deliver the goods. Launched on Christmas Day, 2021, it has since sent back a storm of dazzling images and a trove of good science. Now Webb has done it again. As NASA reports, two astronomers working with raw Webb data the space agency periodically makes available to researchers, have found evidence of a fast-growing black hole in an unexpected place and formed in an unexpected way. [time-brightcove…
To 'infinity' and beyond: Direct evidence of black hole birth found in galaxy named 'Infinity'
Yale astronomer Pieter van Dokkum and a team of researchers have discovered an object in space they call the "Infinity" galaxy—two recently-collided galaxies that, together, look like the symbol for infinity.
Webb spots 'Infinity Galaxy' that sheds light on black hole formation
Discoveries keep pouring out of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Researchers observed an unusual cluster, which they dubbed the Infinity Galaxy. It appears to support a leading theory on how some supermassive black holes form. Although "Infinity Galaxy" sounds like a place Thanos would hang out, it merely describes its appearance. Two compact, red nuclei, each surrounded by a ring, give the cluster the shape of an infinity symbol. What's i…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left, 50% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium