Astronomers discover 3DHST-AEGIS-12014 in study, may explain James Webb LRDs
Astronomers just found a rare space object called 3DHST-AEGIS-12014, sitting a massive 11.8 billion light-years from Earth.
This find could finally help explain the mysterious "little red dots" (LRDs) first noticed by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.
The research was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
X-ray emission suggests LRDs evolution
LRDs are thought to be supermassive black holes hidden behind thick clouds of gas, but this new object stands out because it actually emits X-rays.
That's a big clue: scientists think it might show how LRDs evolve over time or indicate a transition stage between an LRD and a normal growing supermassive black hole.
As co-author Hanpu Liu puts it, the X-ray dot may be the first known transition-stage example and could provide stronger evidence that supermassive black hole growth is central to some little red dots.
More observations are on the way to figure out exactly what's going on here!