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James Webb Telescope Spots Evidence of a Black Hole Carving a Massive Scar Through a Galaxy

James Webb Telescope Spots Evidence of a Black Hole Carving a Massive Scar Through a Galaxy

JWST uncovers a 20,000-light-year contrail, likely carved by a black hole through galaxy NGC 3627.

Written by Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 9 October 2025 22:55 IST

James Webb Telescope Spots Evidence of a Black Hole Carving a Massive Scar Through a Galaxy

Photo Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI)

A 20,000-light-year trail in galaxy NGC 3627 may reveal a black hole’s violent passage

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Highlights

Black hole may have carved a vast contrail in galaxy NGC 3627
JWST and ALMA data reveal trail rich in dust and gas
Contrail stretches 20,000 light-years, formed 20 million years ago

Astronomers have discovered remarkable evidence that a massive black hole may have plowed through a distant galaxy. This leaves a colossal “scar” of gas and dust behind. With the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, along with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), researchers traced out in the spiral galaxy NGC 3627 a linear contrail, which is located around 31 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. The span of this structure is nearly 20,000 light-years in length and only 650 light-years in width. In addition, this is one of the remarkable galactic trails ever observed.

James Webb Telescope Detects 20,000-Light-Year Trail Likely Carved by a Rampaging Black Hole

As per a new study reported by Live Science, astronomers Mengke Zhao and Guang-Xing Li, while analysing data, identified the contrail from the PHANGS survey. This has significant traits like sheer size, and is the most clearly defined scar of its kind ever observed. Moreover, data from Webb confirmed the trail restrains dust. Nevertheless, the observations pointed out that it is rich in carbon monoxide gas.

The object is as heavy as around 10 million suns and imparted the scar as it shot through the galaxy at incredible speed. The object's gravitational pull is thought to have squeezed gas out of the galactic disk, leaving the long, narrow trail as evidence of its passage. The primary candidate for this cosmic cannonball is a massive black hole, though the dense core of a dwarf galaxy is also a possibility.

JWST Delivers First-Ever Weather Report of Rogue Brown Dwarf World Glowing With Auroras

The event is evaluated to have occurred 20 million years ago, relatively recent in astronomical terms. The scientists gave a glimpse that, with current data, they cannot definitively distinguish between the black hole and dwarf galaxy scenarios. In the future, more sensitive observations will be adequate to detect the object responsible for carving this huge wound in the galaxy.

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