JWST finds supermassive black hole that formed before its galaxy
scienceMay 27, 202623539
James Webb measured a 10^7, 10^8 solar-mass black hole in the z=7.04 object Abell2744-QSO1, about 700 million years after the Big Bang. NIRSpec spectra mapped fast-moving gas and broad emission lines, which teams used to derive the black hole mass while the host galaxy shows a much lower stellar mass and primitive structure. That imbalance contradicts standard models where galaxies form first, indicating black holes can grow far faster or from massive seeds and forcing revisions to early-universe formation theories.
![Image description: Image showing hundreds of bright objects of different size, colour, and shape on the black background of space. Colours range from white to deep red. Shapes include elliptical, spiral, dot-like, dash-like, and arcuate.Three objects in the central part of the image are called out with small white boxes that contain images of the three objects. From top to bottom these are labeled QSO1A, QSO1B, and QSO1C. At the centre of each box is a tiny, circular red dot. QSO1A (top) is notably larger, brighter, and clearer than the other two. QSO1B, in the middle, is the smallest and fuzziest, and is somewhat washed out by the light of a larger white object next to it.]
Credit:
NASA, ESA, CSA, L. Furtak (Ben-Gurion University), R. Maiolino (Cambridge), F. D'Eugenio (Cambridge), I. Juodžbalis (Cambridge), H. Übler (MPE), C. Marconcini (University of Florence). Image processing: A. Pagan](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ipz7wp4enanb2fscqz375xps/bafkreih6oympgpvcn33af6qhofbghicmeuopyukdv4wr5z6wcih3jixtda)
