Artist’s Impression of Early-Universe Dwarf Galaxy
This artist’s illustration shows a red, early-Universe dwarf galaxy that hosts a rapidly feeding black hole at its center. Using data from NASA's JWST and Chandra X-ray Observatory, a team of U.S. National Science Foundation NOIRLab astronomers have discovered this low-mass supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang. It is accreting matter at a phenomenal rate — over 40 times the theoretical limit. While short lived, this black hole’s ‘feast’ could help astronomers explain how supermassive black holes grew so quickly in the early Universe.
Credit:NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/M. Zamani
About the Image
Id: | noirlab2427e |
Type: | Artwork |
Release date: | Nov. 4, 2024, 9 a.m. |
Related releases: | noirlab2427 |
Size: | 5120 x 2880 px |
About the Object
Category: | Illustrations |
Image Formats
Large JPEG
1.8 MB
Publication TIFF 4K
10.3 MB
Publication JPEG
1.1 MB
Screensize JPEG
113.4 KB