NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope discovers unexpected number of black holes

An international research team led by scientists from the Department of Astronomy at Stockholm University has found that there were more black holes in the early universe than previously recorded. Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, the team discovered black holes in faint galaxies that formed shortly after the Big Bang event. The findings may help scientists understand how supermassive black holes form and the role they play in the evolution of galaxies. The Hubble data were collected from many years of observations of ultra-deep regions of space.

Supermassive black hole discovered in distant galaxy

One of the key discoveries is the presence of supermassive black holes at the centers of several galaxies that formed less than a billion years after the Big Bang. The masses of these black holes are equivalent to billions of suns, far larger than scientists had initially predicted.

Alice Young, a PhD student at Stockholm University and co-author of the study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, points out that these black holes either formed as extremely massive objects or grew rapidly in the early universe.

Observing Black Holes Through Brightness Changes

The team used Hubble to re-image the same area over several years, measuring changes in the brightness of the galaxies. These changes are a sign of the black holes flickering as they violently devour matter. Matthew Hayes, a professor at Stockholm University and the study’s lead author, explained that the findings could help improve models of how black holes and galaxies grow and interact over time.

Implications for understanding galaxy formation

The study shows that black holes were likely formed from the collapse of massive stars in the first billion years of the universe’s life. The findings provide a clearer picture of the evolution of black holes and galaxies, which can now be better understood through more precise scientific models.