“Black Hole Stars” Could Solve the Mystery of Little Red Dots

Artist’s impression of a black hole star (not to scale). The cut-out reveals the central black hole with it surrounding accretion disk. What makes this a black hole star is the surrounding envelope of turbulent gas. This configuration can explain what astronomers observe in the object they are calling “The Cliff.” (Credit : MPIA/HdA/T. Müller/A. de Graaff)

A bizarre new type of object could solve one of astronomy’s most puzzling mysteries. The James Webb Space Telescope spotted some “little red dots” and until now, it’s been thought they were galaxies. Now, a team of astronomers have come up with an alternative theory, supermassive black holes wrapped up in a thick envelope of gas and they are calling them ‘black hole stars!’

Universe Today
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