Ancient Quasars Challenge Models of Early Universe Black Hole Formation
Astronomers have uncovered 31 of the oldest known quasars, including the two earliest ever detected, shining from a time when the universe was only about 670 million years old. Powered by supermassive black holes billions of times the Sun's mass, these incredibly bright objects challenge scientists' understanding of how such enormous black holes formed so quickly after the Big Bang.
The discovery pushes back the boundaries of what we know about the early universe. Quasars are among the most luminous objects in the cosmos, powered by supermassive black holes actively feeding on surrounding matter. Finding such massive examples so soon after the Big Bang suggests either that black holes formed faster than current models predict, or that mechanisms for their growth were more efficient in the early universe than previously thought.