Behold: The Oldest Black Hole Ever Found

A team of researchers found a black hole from the early universe, prompting new questions as to how such ancient massive objects might form. The black hole dates to about 400 million years after the Big Bang—the start of the universe as we know it—making the object over 13 billion years old. The universe itself is WatchRemake this Sci-Fi Film with Peter Capaldi! CCShare SubtitlesOffEnglishBlack holes are some of the most confounding objects in the universe, in large part because we cannot see beyond their event horizons—the boundary that nothing can escape, not even light. Black holes are AdvertisementGalaxies, AdvertisementBlack holes are generally thought to form when huge stars collapse in on themselves. But if the recently spotted black hole arose in the traditional manner, it would take a billion years to form. Since this one appears to be only 400 million years younger than the universe itself, the researchers believe standard models of black hole creation need to be reworked.“It’s very early in the universe to see a black hole this massive, so we’ve got to consider other ways they might form,” said Roberto Maiolino, an astrophysicist at the University of Cambridge and the Kavli Institute of Cosmology, in a university release. “Very early galaxies were extremely gas-rich, so they would have been like a buffet for black holes.”AdvertisementLast year, the Maiolino noted that Webb’s remarkable sight could reveal more black holes from the early universe in the years ahead. Finding similar black holes to the one at the core of GN-z11—which is to say, relatively petite and very ancient—could help reveal how black holes form and grow.AdvertisementMore:

Based on reporting by gizmodo.com.