Telescopes

The quasar J0148+0600

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal” reports the results of observations of primordial quasars that indicate that supermassive black holes form from “seeds” that are very massive and grow quickly. A team of researchers used observations conducted with the James Webb Space Telescope as part of the EIGER project to detect the faint light of the stars surrounding three of those quasars. This feat offers the possibility of obtaining much more information that allows to estimate the mass of galaxies and central supermassive black holes.

The estimates obtained for the three galaxies at the center of this study indicate that the primordial supermassive black holes were much more massive than today’s supermassive black holes compared to their host galaxies. According to the researchers’ reconstruction, primordial quasars powered by black holes engulfed materials at enormous speeds as they went from initial seeds to supermassive black holes.

A spectroscopic observation conducted with the James Webb Space Telescope's Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) instrument of the galaxy Cosmos-11142 centered on the oxygen emission line doubly ionized

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An article published in the journal “Nature” reports the observation of very strong winds coming from the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Cosmos-11142 which inhibited star formation within it. A team of researchers led by Professor Sirio Belli of the University of Bologna, Italy, used the James Webb Space Telescope to detect the movement of cold neutral gas pushed at such a speed that it swept away the gas in the galaxy and thus prevented the formation of new stars. This is the first evidence of how a supermassive black hole can have that effect on a galaxy.

The position of the three stellar black holes discovered so far in the Milky Way, represented in projection, thanks to the Gaia mission.

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An article published in the journal “Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters” reports the identification of a stellar black hole with a mass estimated to be approximately 33 times the Sun’s that was cataloged as Gaia BH3. A team of researchers used data collected by ESA’s Gaia space probe to find this black hole in the Milky Way’s halo, less than two thousand light-years from Earth. Its mass is remarkable for a stellar black hole and it has a companion, a very ancient star, as its age is estimated to be around 11 billion years.

Artist's impression of the GRB221009A gamma-ray burst with relativistic jets coming from the black hole at the center (Image courtesy Aaron M. Geller / Northwestern / CIERA / IT Research Computing and Data Services)

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An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” reports a study on the gamma-ray burst cataloged as GRB221009A, the brightest ever detected, which confirms that it was caused by the collapse of a massive star, which subsequently exploded in a supernova. A team of researchers led by Northwestern University used data collected with the James Webb Space Telescope and the ALMA radio telescope to obtain the information needed to support their conclusions. The mystery remains of the absence of traces of the generation of heavy elements such as platinum and gold, which they thought could be associated with supernovae that lead to very powerful gamma-ray bursts.

The nebula NGC 6164/6165 surrounding the system HD 148937 as seen by the VLT Survey Telescope (Image ESO/VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgment: CASU)

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An article published in the journal “Science” reports a study on the HD 148937 system, a binary system surrounded by a double nebula known as NGC 6164/6165. A team of researchers used the PIONIER and GRAVITY instruments mounted on ESO’s VLT Interferometer (VLTI) in Chile and archival data from the FEROS instrument at the La Silla Observatory, also an ESO’s telescope in Chile, to collect the data necessary to conclude that it was originally at least a triple system and at some point two of the stars merged. It was a violent event that created the cloud of materials around the system.