Space.com
• Robert Lea
Astronomers are using James Webb Space Telescope observations and simulations to probe how the earliest supermassive black holes formed. One study argues that the enigmatic “Little Red Dots” may mark their birthplaces, while another reports the oldest known pair of black hole-powered quasars—objects that challenge expectations about the early universe.
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Astronomers are using James Webb Space Telescope observations and simulations to probe how the earliest supermassive black holes formed. One study argues that the enigmatic “Little Red Dots” may mark their birthplaces, while another reports the oldest known pair of black hole-powered quasars—objects that challenge expectations about the early universe.
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Studies using James Webb Space Telescope observations offer two possible clues to how black holes became massive in the early universe. Five ancient star clusters could have formed black holes up to 2,700 times the Sun’s mass, while another proposal suggests mysterious Little Red Dots may host primordial black holes dating to the Big Bang.
Astronomers used machine learning to filter starlight from James Webb Space Telescope observations, bringing a distant giant exoplanet into view. The approach offers a way to extract faint planetary signals from the glare of their host stars in telescope data.
Images from the James Webb Space Telescope show an apparent abundance of bright galaxies just 400 to 500 million years after the Big Bang. Researchers propose that powerful winds cleared gas from these early galaxies, making their light more visible and offering an explanation for the unexpectedly bright population.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope detected the most deuterium-rich methane measured in the Solar System in 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar object. The finding suggests the comet’s ices formed in a cold, distant, low-metallicity environment, offering clues to the conditions where material around other stars originated.
Coronagraphs help telescopes search for faint exoplanets by blocking their stars’ glare, but the instruments have limits. Researchers have developed a new technique using the James Webb Space Telescope’s “digital twin” to make dim planets easier to find, addressing a persistent challenge in exoplanet observation.
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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope found that interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has ice unlike familiar solar-system comets and more like bodies beyond Neptune. Separate Hubble and Webb observations of faint outer-solar-system objects are revealing clues to the solar system’s earliest history.
The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a lopsided exoplanet and blistering winds on its evening side, challenging the familiar image of an evenly illuminated world. The finding shows how observations can expose differences across an exoplanet’s atmosphere.
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Our James Webb Space Telescope coverage provides a detailed look at the most powerful space telescope ever built. Stay informed on its mission to explore the universe's distant realms, from the first galaxies that formed after the Big Bang to the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets, and the groundbreaking discoveries it promises to unveil.
