The James Webb Space Telescope has uncovered hundreds of tiny red points in the early universe. They are extraordinarily compact, unexpectedly bright and strangely quiet in the X-ray and radio wavelengths where an active black hole should reveal itself.
Astronomers call them “little red dots,” but that modest nickname conceals one of the most intriguing mysteries of the Webb era.
In this episode, we follow the clues hidden in their light. Some may contain young black holes buried inside enormous cocoons of hydrogen, objects researchers have nicknamed “black hole stars.” Others may be powered by supermassive stars, furious bursts of star formation or combinations of several different cosmic engines.
We’ll examine new evidence from several unusual objects, visit the nearby Saguaro galaxy and the curious galaxies known as Green Peas, and ask whether the young Milky Way might once have appeared as a little red dot of its own.
Then, in the Night Sky Report for August 30 through September 6, we’ll look for the Moon beside Saturn, Venus near Spica, Mars and Jupiter before dawn, and some of the quieter constellations hiding around the Summer Triangle.
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