A groundbreaking astronomical finding has resolved a long-standing mystery about the early cosmos, according to space specialist Andy Lound.
Scientists have determined that black holes from the universe's infancy are significantly smaller than earlier estimates suggested.
The revelation emerged through observations using an advanced instrument called Gravity+, which merges light from four large telescopes to examine distant cosmic objects.
This enhanced technology has enabled researchers to scrutinise a black hole with its surrounding quasar - the energetic core - and its encircling disc of dust and gas with unprecedented clarity.
Scientists have determined that black holes from the universe's infancy are significantly smaller than earlier estimates suggested
|GB NEWS
The discovery addresses what Mr Lound describes as a "huge question" that has puzzled astrophysicists: the presence of seemingly enormous black holes during the universe's earliest epochs, when insufficient time should have existed for their formation.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Lound said: "It's quite an important discovery, and again, it just shows that science is constantly moving forward. The instrument they've used, Gravity+, has combined light from four major telescopes to analyse that other black hole.
"At the centre of the black hole is a quasar, which is the active nucleus of the black hole. Surrounding that is a ring of dust and gas - the accretion disk. It's thought that the black hole feeds on this material as it falls in.
"Now, the mass was originally measured at about 800 times that of our star, the Sun.
"However, when astronomers examined it more carefully with these new instruments, offering much better resolution, they found something very exciting: the radiation surrounding the black hole, as well as part of the accretion disk, is actually blasting a large amount of dust and gas out of the region.
"The electromagnetic radiation and related interactions are pushing much of the material away, meaning the black hole is not consuming it all.
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"Therefore, the black hole could be up to ten times smaller than previously thought.
"This is a really important discovery because we’ve long tried to understand why there are such massive black holes in the early universe a puzzle that didn’t quite fit our physics.
"Now, with this new instrument and the latest measurements, we’re getting a clearer picture. It does mean, of course, that many of the objects we've observed in the early universe, particularly quasars, will need to be recalculated and reassessed.
"But ultimately, it helps us better understand how the early universe formed. As we often joke, science is really just about getting a better ruler."
There are an estimated 40 quintillion black holes | PAThe discovery necessitates a comprehensive reassessment of astronomical observations from the early cosmos.
This recalibration effort will affect numerous celestial objects previously studied at extreme distances.
The findings demonstrate that scientific progress often involves refining measurements rather than overturning fundamental principles.
It also confirms that genuinely supermassive black holes do exist, but primarily in later cosmic epochs when sufficient time had elapsed for their growth through matter accumulation.