NASA Hubble Space Telescope Finds a High Number of Black Holes in the Early Universe

An
international
team
of
researchers,
led
by
scientists
from
Stockholm
University’s
Department
of

Astronomy,
has
discovered
a
higher
number
of
black
holes
in
the
early
universe
than
was
previously
recorded.
Using
the

NASA
Hubble
Space
Telescope,
this
team
found
black
holes
among
faint
galaxies
formed
shortly
after
the
Big
Bang
event.
These
findings
may
help
scientists
understand
how
supermassive
black
holes
were
formed
and
the
role
they
play
in
the
evolution
of
galaxies.
Hubble’s
data
was
gathered
from
years
of
observations
of
the
Ultra
Deep
Field
region.

Supermassive
Black
Holes
Found
in
Distant
Galaxies

One
of
the
key
discoveries
was
the
presence
of
supermassive

black
holes
at
the
centre
of
several
galaxies
formed
less
than
a
billion
years
after
the
big
bang.
These
black
holes
have
masses
equivalent
to
billions
of
suns,
far
larger
than
what
scientists
initially
predicted.

Alice
Young,
a
PhD
student
from
Stockholm
University
and
a
co-author
of
the

study
published
in
The
Astrophysical
Journal
Letters,
noted
that
these
black
holes
either
formed
as
extremely
massive
objects
or
grew
rapidly
in
the
early
universe.

Observing
Black
Holes
through
Variations
in
Brightness

The
research
team
re-photographed
the
same
region
over
several
years
using
Hubble,
allowing
them
to
measure
changes
in
galaxy
brightness.
These
changes
are
signals
of
black
holes
flickering
as
they
swallow
material
in
bursts.
Matthew
Hayes,
lead
author
and
professor
at
Stockholm
University,
explained
that
these
findings
help
improve
models
of
how
both
black
holes
and
galaxies
grow
and
interact
over
time.

Implications
for
Understanding
Galaxy
Formation

The
research
suggests
black
holes
likely
formed
from
the
collapse
of
massive
stars
in
the
universe’s
first
billion
years.
These
findings
provide
a
clearer
picture
of
black
hole
and
galaxy
evolution,
which
can
now
be
better
understood
through
more
accurate
scientific
models.