Astronomers at Durham University have helped identify what could be a previously unseen type of object: a possible “black hole star” combining a central black hole with an enormous, dense cloud of gas.
The object, named MoM-BH*-1, was detected as a bright red dot in the very early Universe, just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. It appears to span roughly the size of our solar system, yet is producing about 100 billion times more energy than any known star.
What Durham researchers contributed
Researchers from Durham University’s Department of Physics and Institute for Computational Cosmology were part of the international team studying the discovery. Their role was to provide theoretical interpretation of new observations made by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, known as JWST.
The research team used computer simulations to test different explanations for the object’s unusual colour and extreme brightness. The simulations suggested it could be a powerful, heavily enclosed energy source surrounded by extremely dense hydrogen. That explanation alone did not account for the amount of energy being produced.
Researchers then added an active, growing black hole to their models and varied its mass and other characteristics. The resulting simulations produced the closest match to the brightness recorded by JWST, leading the team to conclude that a black hole star was the most likely explanation.
A possible explanation for mysterious red dots
If the interpretation is correct, MoM-BH*-1 could help explain the identity of the mysterious little red dots seen in almost every deep-space image taken by JWST.
The object is thought to contain a central black hole around 100,000 times as massive as the Sun. Around it is a dense, star-like hydrogen cocoon approximately the size of our solar system. Unlike an ordinary star, which is powered by nuclear fusion, the proposed object would be powered by the central black hole.
Scientists said the combination would be unlike anything seen before. The name MoM-BH*-1 refers to the survey that detected it and indicates that it may be the first example of a wider population of similar objects.
Research led by international team
The discovery was led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. Durham University’s contribution was led by Professor Sownak Bose from the Department of Physics and Institute for Computational Cosmology.
The full research paper is published in the journal Nature. Durham University said its Department of Physics is ranked joint 67th in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 and fourth in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2027.
The findings were published by Durham University on 14 August 2026 as research news. The proposed explanation remains dependent on further study of the JWST observations and the team’s modelling.