JWST Discovers Oldest Black Hole

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has peered deeper into the history of the universe than ever before and found something that should not exist according to current scientific models. Astronomers have identified the oldest known black hole, dating back to just 400 million years after the Big Bang. This discovery is forcing scientists to rethink how the very first galaxies were formed.

The Discovery of the Cosmic Behemoth

In early 2024, an international team of astronomers led by Professor Roberto Maiolino of the University of Cambridge published findings detailing a black hole located in the galaxy GN-z11. While GN-z11 was already famous for being one of the most distant galaxies ever observed, the new data from JWST revealed what was hiding at its center.

Using the telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), the team analyzed the light coming from the galaxy. They did not see the black hole directly, as black holes trap all light. Instead, they observed the tell-tale signs of an “accretion disk.” This is a swirling halo of gas and dust being sucked into the void. The gas becomes superheated and shines brightly in ultraviolet light.

The spectral analysis showed dense spikes of neon and carbon. These chemical signatures indicated that a supermassive black hole was tearing apart the surrounding matter. This object is estimated to be roughly 1.6 million times the mass of our Sun. While that is small compared to the black hole at the center of the Milky Way today, it is astronomically large for an object that existed during the infancy of the universe.

Why This Challenges Standard Physics

This discovery has created a significant puzzle for astrophysicists. Under standard cosmological theories, black holes grow over time. They usually begin as “stellar seeds.” This happens when a massive star collapses under its own gravity at the end of its life. These initial black holes are relatively small, perhaps 10 to 100 times the mass of the Sun.

Over billions of years, these seeds merge with other black holes and consume gas to become the “supermassive” giants we see today. However, the timeline for the black hole in GN-z11 does not fit this model.

The universe is 13.8 billion years old. Finding a black hole with the mass of 1.6 million Suns just 400 million years after the universe began is mathematically difficult to explain. There simply was not enough time for a stellar seed to grow that large. It would be like walking into a nursery school and finding a child who is already six feet tall.

Two Theories on Early Growth

To explain the existence of this ancient giant, scientists are currently debating two main theories. The findings from the Webb telescope provide evidence that supports elements of both, but the debate is far from settled.

1. Super-Eddington Accretion

The first theory suggests that early black holes did start as collapsing stars but ate matter much faster than previously thought possible. There is a physical limit known as the “Eddington limit.” This rule states that if a black hole eats too fast, the radiation pressure from the heat pushes the food (gas and dust) away, stopping the feeding process.

However, the black hole in GN-z11 appears to be devouring matter at five times the Eddington rate. If black holes in the early universe could sustain these “feeding frenzies” for long periods, they could theoretically grow from small seeds to millions of solar masses in a short time.

2. Heavy Seeds

The second, more radical theory involves “heavy seeds.” This hypothesis suggests these black holes skipped the star phase entirely. In the dense, hot environment of the early universe, massive clouds of primordial gas might have collapsed directly into a black hole.

Instead of starting at 10 solar masses, a heavy seed could start at 10,000 or even 100,000 solar masses. If the black hole in GN-z11 began as a heavy seed, its current size is much easier to explain.

The Role of JWST Technology

This discovery would have been impossible without the James Webb Space Telescope. The Hubble Space Telescope had previously spotted the galaxy GN-z11, but it could not resolve the specific details needed to identify the black hole.

The expansion of the universe stretches light waves as they travel across space. Light that started as ultraviolet or visible light from GN-z11 has been stretched into the infrared spectrum by the time it reaches us. This is known as “redshift.”

JWST is specifically designed to see this infrared light. Its instruments are sensitive enough to break that light down into its component colors (spectroscopy). This allowed Maiolino and his team to see the chemical fingerprints of highly ionized gas swirling around the black hole, distinguishing it from the light of the galaxy’s stars.

What This Means for the Future of Astronomy

The existence of this black hole implies that the early universe was much more active and chaotic than previously believed. It suggests that supermassive black holes helped shape the structure of the very first galaxies, rather than just forming quietly inside them later on.

The team at Cambridge and other institutions are now using JWST to hunt for even more “little red dots”—compact, red objects that might turn out to be other early black holes. If they find many more of these massive objects in the early timeline, standard models of cosmic evolution will need to be rewritten. The era of “heavy seeds” or “super-feeding” might be the standard history of our cosmos.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old is the black hole discovered by JWST? The black hole is observed as it existed roughly 400 million years after the Big Bang. This makes it over 13 billion years old relative to our current time.

Which galaxy hosts this black hole? The black hole is located in the center of the galaxy known as GN-z11.

Why is this discovery a problem for science? The black hole is too massive (1.6 million solar masses) for its age. Standard theories suggest it would take billions of years, not millions, to grow that large from a collapsing star.

Who led the research team? The research was led by Professor Roberto Maiolino from the Cavendish Laboratory and the Kavli Institute for Cosmology at the University of Cambridge.

Is this the biggest black hole ever found? No. It is one of the oldest, but not the biggest. The biggest black holes, like TON 618, are billions of times the mass of the Sun. This one is significant because of how big it is relative to how young the universe was at the time.