Astronomers have found a mysterious and massive black hole in the deep sky that could rewrite our understanding of the universe’s origins. The object is so ancient it may be older than the stars themselves. A team analyzed data from the James Webb Space Telescope, which suggests this primordial black hole was formed before the first large stars appeared.
The Big Bang theory states that time and physical laws didn’t exist before the universe began expanding 13.8 billion years ago. However, scientists are still unsure what happened next or in what order celestial objects formed during the early universe. For a long time after the Big Bang, space was too hot and chaotic for any structure to form.
Recently, hundreds of thousands of years passed before a hydrogen atom could hold itself together, followed by 100 million years more before great clouds of hydrogen condensed and stars began to shine. Most scientists believe these stars were among the first large structures in the universe, and black holes appeared later. But some researchers have proposed an alternative theory.
The discovery of this ancient black hole has significant implications for our understanding of the universe’s evolution. If confirmed, it would require a major overhaul of current theories about how the universe came to be.
Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/2025/09/primordial-black-hole-cosmology/684349