Astronomers Discover the Hungriest Black Hole in the Early Universe

Summary
Astronomers have discovered LID-568, the hungriest black hole in the early universe, using the JWST and Chandra X-ray Observatory. Located 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, this black hole consumes over seven million solar masses in 12 million years, exceeding theoretical growth limits. The discovery offers insights into how supermassive black holes formed and grew rapidly in the early universe. JWST’s advanced tools were pivotal in detecting this faint object, highlighting mechanisms like super-Eddington feeding as a possible explanation for rapid black hole growth.]

Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have identified an extraordinary black hole in the early universe with an insatiable appetite. This black hole, named **LID-568**, has been found to consume over seven million solar masses in just 12 million years, exceeding the theoretical maximum growth rate.

The discovery sheds light on how some black holes grew so rapidly in the early universe.
Previously, telescopes like the Hubble and JWST have identified galaxies containing supermassive black holes with hundreds of millions to billions of solar masses within the universe’s first billion years. However, scientists have struggled to explain how these black holes formed and grew so quickly.

Black Hole LID-568: A Rare Phenomenon

LID-568 was first identified in a survey of objects emitting luminous X-rays, existing approximately 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang. Due to its faint signals, pinpointing its position was challenging. The use of JWST’s integral field spectrograph proved crucial for these observations.

“This extreme case suggests a fast-feeding mechanism surpassing the Eddington limit could explain the rapid growth of such massive black holes in the early universe,” noted co-author Emanuele Farina of the International Gemini Observatory.

The findings not only highlight LID-568’s incredible growth but also provide insights into the mysteries surrounding the early universe’s supermassive black holes.

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