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A cluster of faint, red dots lurking in the farthest reaches of the universe could change our understanding of how supermassive black holes (SMBHs) form. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) coincidentally spotted the specks, which astronomers say are actually "baby quasars," while studying an unrelated faraway quasar called J1148+5251.  Quasars are extremely bright objects powered by actively feeding supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. The target quasar emitted its light approximately 13 billion years ago — less than a billion years after the Big Bang , according to a study published Thursday (March 7) in The Astrophysical Journal .  While these mysterious spots had been previously recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope , it wasn't until scientists viewed them using the far more powerful JWST that they could finally distinguish them from normal galaxies, according to a statement . "The JWST helped us determine that faint little red dots ...

Scientists have spotted the brightest and fastest-growing quasar ever seen — a monster black hole that's devouring a sun's-worth of material every day. The brightly burning object, named J0529-4351, weighs between 17 billion and 19 billion solar masses and is located 12 billion light-years from Earth — meaning it dates to a time when the universe was only 1.5 billion years old.  Related: James Webb telescope discovers the oldest, most distant black hole in the universe Black holes are born when giant stars collapse in on themselves, and they grow by devouring all they encounter — be it gas, dust, stars, planets or other black holes. Friction can cause the material spiraling into the maws of these gluttonous space-time ruptures to heat up, which emits light that can be detected by telescopes, turning them into so-called active galactic nuclei (AGN). The most extreme AGNs are quasars — supermassive black holes that are billions of times heavier than...

  In the realm of paleontology, discoveries often transcend mere scientific findings—they unveil stories of ancient worlds, offering glimpses into the lives of creatures long gone. Recently, the excavation of a remarkably preserved Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton has sparked awe and fascination within the scientific community and captivated the imagination of enthusiasts worldwide. Aptly named ‘Black Beauty,’ this T. rex skeleton stands as one of the most complete and striking specimens ever unearthed. Unearthed in the Badlands of South Dakota, Black Beauty’s distinctiveness lies not only in its complete ness but also in its eerie ‘death pose.’ Frozen in a posture reminiscent of its final moments, this mighty predator’s bones tell a tale of a dramatic demise. What sets Black Beauty apart, however, is the stunning black hue that adorns its skeletal remains—a phenomenon attributed to a specific mineral exposure during the fossilization process. The journey of Black Bea...