How did this Black Hole come to exist?

In summary, a team of astronomers has detected the most distant supermassive black hole ever observed, which sits in the center of an ultrabright quasar. The light from this black hole was emitted just 690 million years after the Big Bang and has taken about 13 billion years to reach us. Some speculate that this could mean that the universe is older than previously thought. Others question whether the observed red shift is entirely due to cosmological effects. However, this thread has been locked as it appears to be discussing the same topic as another thread.
  • #1
wolram
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171206131946.htm

A team of astronomers, including two from MIT, has detected the most distant supermassive black hole ever observed. The black hole sits in the center of an ultrabright quasar, the light of which was emitted just 690 million years after the Big Bang. That light has taken about 13 billion years to reach us -- a span of time that is nearly equal to the age of the universe.

May be the universe is older than we think?
 
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  • #2
wolram said:
That light has taken about 13 billion years to reach us
I wonder whether the red shift observed and used to calculate distance might be in part due to the emitted photons coming from close to the event horizon, and it is not entirely a cosmological red shift.
 
  • #3
Buzz Bloom said:
I wonder whether the red shift observed and used to calculate distance might be in part due to the emitted photons coming from close to the event horizon, and it is not entirely a cosmological red shift.

I'm not sure but if this Black Hole formed during re ionisation some thing must be wrong, either the observation has errors or the age of the universe must be wrong.
 
  • #4
wolram said:
I'm not sure but if this Black Hole formed during re ionisation some thing must be wrong, either the observation has errors or the age of the universe must be wrong.

How so? How does this contradict the age of the universe?
 
  • #6

FAQ: How did this Black Hole come to exist?

1) How did scientists first discover the existence of Black Holes?

Black Holes were first theorized by Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity in 1915. However, the first evidence of their existence was found in 1964 by astronomer Maarten Schmidt who observed a strange radio source called Cygnus X-1. Further research and observations confirmed the presence of a Black Hole in that location.

2) What are the different types of Black Holes?

There are three main types of Black Holes: stellar, intermediate, and supermassive. Stellar Black Holes are created from the collapse of a massive star, intermediate Black Holes are thought to form from the merging of smaller Black Holes, and supermassive Black Holes are found at the center of most galaxies and are millions to billions of times the mass of our Sun.

3) How do Black Holes form?

Black Holes are formed when a massive star dies and its core collapses under its own gravity. This creates an incredibly dense object with a gravitational pull so strong that not even light can escape, hence the name "Black Hole." Alternatively, Black Holes can also form from the collision and merging of multiple smaller Black Holes.

4) Can Black Holes destroy the entire universe?

While Black Holes are incredibly powerful and have the ability to consume matter and energy, they cannot destroy the entire universe. In fact, Black Holes actually play a crucial role in the formation and evolution of galaxies. The gravitational pull of Black Holes helps to shape and organize the structure of the universe.

5) How do we study and observe Black Holes?

Since light cannot escape a Black Hole, they are impossible to directly observe. However, scientists can observe the effects of Black Holes on the surrounding matter and environment. This is done through various techniques such as detecting X-rays, studying the movements of stars and gas around a Black Hole, and using gravitational lensing to observe the distortion of light caused by a Black Hole's gravity.

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