Astronomers Discover an Entirely New Type of Object: a “Black Hole Star”

Key Points:

• Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a new cosmic object called a "black hole star," named MoM-BH*-1, which is 100,000 times more massive than the Sun and surrounded by a thick gas shell, making it appear star-sized but powered by a black hole rather than fusion.
• The black hole at the center of MoM-BH*-1 emits energy 100 billion times greater than any known star and formed less than 700 million years after the Big Bang, making it an unprecedented and ancient cosmic entity.
• This discovery supports the long-hypothesized existence of black hole stars, or "quasi-stars," which may explain hundreds of mysterious "little red dots" observed by the James Webb telescope that are too dense to be stars yet too compact to be galaxies.
• The research team found that the unusual light behavior of MoM-BH*-1 could be explained by a dense hydrogen shell blocking x-rays from the central black hole, suggesting that other similar objects are likely black hole stars embedded in early galaxies.
• MoM-BH*-1 stands out because it outshines its host galaxy entirely, providing a rare opportunity to study a pure black hole star without interference from surrounding galactic light.