Astronomers Baffled, Universe Weirder Than Ever Imagined On Strange Red Dot Discovery
Since their discovery in 2023, astronomers have been puzzled by these little red dots, i.e. extremely bright, compact objects that appear far more luminous and ancient than they should be, given their distance. The dots, which glow with an intense crimson light, were an unexpected discovery and have since challenged conventional models of galaxy formation. The new theory suggests that these aren't nascent galaxies at all, but rather colossal star-like structures with a black hole at their core.
A black hole star isn't a binary system though; it’s a single, unified object. According to the hypothesis, these objects formed in the early universe when a nascent black hole was born within a massive cloud of gas. As the black hole in the center draw matter in, it converts the gas into energy which then emits light.
The existence of these black hole stars, if confirmed, could provide a missing link in the rapid growth of supermassive black holes found at the centers of today's galaxies. They could represent the infancy stage of these cosmic engines, demonstrating a method for black holes to grow at a rate far faster than previously thought possible.
For next steps (and to obtain a more definitive answer), the research team intends on testing the density of the gas within this hybrid black hole/star. But the team is remaining open-minded about it all. Leja concludes, "It’s okay to be wrong. The universe is much weirder than we can imagine and all we can do is follow its clues. There are still big surprises out there for us.”
Main photo credit: T. Müller/A. de Graaff/Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
