Webb image archive
Evidence of a ‘Black Hole Star’
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s spectroscopic data on little red dot GLIMPSE-17775 contains more than 40 spectral lines. The spectrum contains multiple independent ...
- Date
- Jun 10, 2026
- Observatory
- James Webb Space Telescope
- Credit
- NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI
- Archive ID
- evidence-of-a-black-hole-star
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s spectroscopic data on little red dot GLIMPSE-17775 contains more than 40 spectral lines. The spectrum contains multiple independent indicators that support the theory this little red dot is a black hole star: a rapidly accreting, or growing, black hole enveloped in a hot, dense gas cocoon. This layered, shell-like environment is reprocessing the light emitted from near the black hole and producing the features seen in the spectrum.
For example, scientists found that many of the spectral lines, such as hydrogen, oxygen, and helium, do not match a simple, rotating gas cloud model. The best fit model includes a broadening effect known as electron scattering, a telltale sign that a dense, layered gas cocoon is enshrouding the source.