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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Might Have Spotted Hidden Supermassive Black Holes

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Might Have Spotted Hidden Supermassive Black Holes

Astronomers studying JWST’s “little red dots” suggest these early-universe objects may not be galaxies at all.

Written by Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 16 January 2026 17:34 IST

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Might Have Spotted Hidden Supermassive Black Holes

Photo Credit: adim Rusakov/CEERS/PRIMER

The James Webb Space Telescope's little red dot discoveries continue to capture scientists' attention.

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Highlights

JWST’s little red dots puzzle astronomers studying early galaxies
Study suggests objects are hidden supermassive black holes
Dense gas masks X-ray and radio signals

It appears that the JWST is peeking at a few inquisitive tiny red blinking points, the small old galaxies, which are luminous in infrared light. Since the initial sighting of the astronomers, who observed them in late 2022, their heads have been banging. A new research by an astrophysicist, Vadim Rusakov, of the University of Manchester, suggests that these suspicious little red dots could actually not be galaxies. Rather, the results describe them as possibly the supermassive black holes that are disguised as the latter, concealed by the veils of gases and dust that can be found in the early universe.

The mystery of the ‘little red dots'

According to Space.com, in late 2022, JWST images revealed tiny, faint red specks — ‘little red dots' — appearing within a billion years of the Big Bang and fading by about two billion years. Scientists debated their nature: were they ultra-compact star clusters or something stranger? Vadim Rusakov of Manchester University noted they “are simply too luminous and too compact to be explained by a large number of stars”, which would make them the densest known galaxies.

Hidden supermassive black holes?

The new study suggests each dot may cloak a growing supermassive black hole. The brightest knot in each dot shines with the power of ~250 billion suns but is contained in less than a third of a light-year – far too compact for a normal galaxy. The radiation was trapped by dense gas around the core, hiding the usual X-ray and radio signals. As Rusakov notes, the dots thus have “an almost perfect disguise that removes X-ray and radio emission”. The findings are reported in Nature (15 January 2026).