Archive · 18 Dec 2025
JWST discovers supersonic supermassive black hole
Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope found a supermassive black hole that was kicked out of its galaxy.
This black hole is moving incredibly fast, about 1,000 kilometres per second, which is 3,000 times the speed of sound on Earth.
It's so big that it's at least 10 million times heavier than our Sun.
The black hole is leaving a huge trail of stars behind it, about 200,000 light-years long.
Scientists think it got kicked out when two galaxies and their black holes merged.
The black hole is hard to see directly, but scientists can see the shock wave it creates as it moves through space.
This is the first time they've seen a black hole like this moving so fast.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope discovered a runaway supermassive black hole moving at 1,000 km/s.
The black hole is at least 10 million times the mass of the Sun and is the first confirmed runaway supermassive black hole.
It has a massive bow shock the size of a galaxy and a 200,000 light-year-long tail of star formation.
The black hole's movement is likely due to gravitational recoil from a supermassive black hole merger.
Scientists observed the black hole by detecting the shock wave and wake it creates as it moves through space.
- Who
- Researchers led by Pieter van Dokkum of Yale University
- What
- Discovery of a runaway supermassive black hole
- When
- First reported in 2023, observed with JWST
- Where
- In the direction of the 'Cosmic Owl' galaxies
- Why
- Possible gravitational recoil from a supermassive black hole merger
- Black Hole Mass
- At least 10 million times the mass of the Sun
- Speed
- 1,000 kilometres per second (3,000 times the speed of sound at sea level on Earth)
- Bow Shock Size
- Size of an entire galaxy
- Star Formation Tail
- 200,000 light-years
- Discovery Method
- Observation of shock wave and wake
- Possible Cause
- Gravitational recoil from a supermassive black hole merger
- Discovery Tool
- James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
- Research Team Leader
- Pieter van Dokkum, Yale University