James Webb Space Telescope Discovers 'Extremely Red' Supermassive Black Hole

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified an 'extremely red' supermassive black hole in the early universe, challenging current understanding of galaxy formation.

The 'extremely red' supermassive black hole, located about 12.9 billion light-years away, was observed as it was around 700 million years after the Big Bang.
The black hole's red hue is attributed to the expanding universe causing light to be 'redshifted,' indicating a cloak of thick gas and dust.
With a mass approximately 40 million times that of the sun, the black hole is unexpectedly massive for the galaxy it resides in and is rapidly growing by consuming surrounding gas and dust.
Gravitational lensing, predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, was utilized to amplify light from distant galaxies, revealing the black hole.
The discovery raises questions about the rapid growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe and challenges existing models of galaxy formation.