Science & Tech · Space · 1 hr ago
Webb finds the earliest known pair of compact quasars
Using the James Webb Space Telescope and Gemini North, astronomers found a pair of quasars called Nāpōwawāʻenakaulua.
The pair is seen as it was 900 million years after the Big Bang, during an early period known as Cosmic Dawn.
Quasars shine when gas and dust around supermassive black holes heat up as the black holes feed.
The two black holes have masses of 1.5 billion and 400 million suns and are only 18,100 light-years apart.
Their great mass so early in cosmic history is a puzzle because current models suggest black holes need at least a billion years to grow that large through feeding and mergers.
The discovery adds to earlier Webb finds of very early quasars, but there is no definitive explanation for how these black holes grew so fast.
The James Webb Space Telescope and Gemini North helped identify the earliest known compact pair of quasars, designated J1602+4228AB and nicknamed Nāpōwawāʻenakaulua.
The pair is seen as it was 900 million years after the Big Bang, when its two supermassive black holes had masses of 1.5 billion and 400 million times the Sun’s.
The black holes are separated by 18,100 light-years, about one-fifth the diameter of the Milky Way.
The discovery poses a puzzle because current models suggest black holes need at least 1 billion years to grow and merge into objects this massive.
- Who
- Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope and Gemini North.
- What
- They found the earliest known compact quasar pair, designated J1602+4228AB and nicknamed Nāpōwawāʻenakaulua.
- When
- The pair is seen 900 million years after the Big Bang. The articles were published on November 10 and 12, 2026.
- Where
- In the early universe; a more specific location is not stated.
- Why
- The discovery challenges current models, which suggest black holes need at least 1 billion years to grow to such masses.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The quasar pair is observed as it was at this point in the universe’s history.
The James Webb Space Telescope began operations.
Phys.org published an article about the earliest known compact quasar pair.
Space.com published an article about the discovery.
- Designation
- J1602+4228AB
- Nickname
- Nāpōwawāʻenakaulua
- Time after Big Bang
- 900 million years
- Black hole masses
- 1.5 billion and 400 million times the Sun’s mass
- Separation
- 18,100 light-years
- Discovery instruments
- James Webb Space Telescope and Gemini North
2 sources
What people are saying
There is no definitive theoretical explanation for how a single one of these giant quasars exists so early in the age of our universe, much less two
We observed Nāpōwawāʻenakaulua at a time when the universe was only a thirteenth of its age and, astonishingly, its supermassive black holes are just as massive as those we see today.