Ultra-rare black hole ancestor detected at the dawn of the universe

A red object 13 billion light-years away from Earth may be the earliest known progenitor of a black hole.

According to the authors of a new study published in the journal Nature, the ancient object shows characteristics that are 888-609- 888-609- 888-609- 888-609- 888-609- The object is believed to be the first direct evidence of an early galaxy weaving stardust into the foundations of a black hole.

These objects, known as transitioning red quasars, have been thought to exist in the early universe but have never been observed.

At the dawn of time, the universe may have been filled with black holes.

The discovered object connects two rare populations of heavenly objects, namely dusty starbursts and quasars, according to the lead study author.

Quasars are bright objects that are powered by black holes. The monster black holes are so large that they suck in everything around them at blinding speed. A bright glow is created by the gas that spirals into the black holes.

quasars existed within the first 700 million years of the universe, but it is not clear how they formed so quickly. Simulations suggest that there is a fast-growing transition phase in dusty, star-dense galaxies.

Theorists have predicted that these black holes undergo an early phase of rapid growth, and that a dust-reddened compact object emerges from a heavily dust-obscured starburst galaxy.

In their new paper, the researchers claim to have found one of these rare transitional objects, officially named GNz7q, while studying an ancient, star-forming galaxy with the Hubble Space Telescope.

The team caught the early galaxy in the midst of a stellar baby boom, which was 1,600 times faster than the Milky Way is today. The newborn stars produced a lot of heat, which warmed the ambient gas and caused it to glow brightly. The researchers said that the dust of the galaxy shines brighter than any other object from the dawn period.

The researchers found a red point of light in the bright glowing dust and the enormous fog of dust around it. The researchers say that the red dot's color and luminosity match the predicted characteristics of a red quasar.

The observed properties are in agreement with the theoretical simulations and suggest that GNz7q is the first example of the transitioning, rapid growth phase of black holes at the dusty star core.

There are many, many others like it waiting to be discovered by telescopes that can peer even further back, into the earliest eras of the universe, and the team probably didn't just stumbled upon this object by dumb luck. The James Webb Space Telescope will be able to find these objects with more clarity than the Hubble Telescope.

It was originally published on Live Science.