Astronomers have identified the most distant black hole ever confirmed, located in a galaxy called CAPERS-LRD-z9. This black hole is believed to have formed just 500 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was only about 3% of its current age. The discovery sets a new benchmark for how early supermassive black holes can form and raises questions about their origin and growth.
The team used spectroscopy, which splits light into its component wavelengths, to confirm the presence of the black hole. This technique reveals the signature of matter orbiting a black hole, with gas moving away appearing redder and gas moving towards us appearing bluer. The newly discovered black hole is estimated to weigh up to 300 million times the mass of our sun.
The discovery adds to growing evidence that early supermassive black holes grew much faster than previously thought possible or started out more massive than predicted models suggest. This research was published on Wednesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and marks a significant milestone in understanding early galaxy formation and evolution.
Source: https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/scientists-find-oldest-known-black-hole-in-the-universe-this-is-about-as-far-back-as-you-can-practically-go