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By NASA
Webb Webb News Latest News Latest Images Blog (offsite) Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 6 Min Read Newfound Galaxy Class May Indicate Early Black Hole Growth, Webb Finds
A team of astronomers sifted through James Webb Space Telescope data from multiple surveys to compile one of the largest samples of “little red dots” to date. Credits:
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Dale Kocevski (Colby College). In December 2022, less than six months after commencing science operations, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope revealed something never seen before: numerous red objects that appear small on the sky, which scientists soon called “little red dots” (LRDs). Though these dots are quite abundant, researchers are perplexed by their nature, the reason for their unique colors, and what they convey about the early universe.
A team of astronomers recently compiled one of the largest samples of LRDs to date, nearly all of which existed during the first 1.5 billion years after the big bang. They found that a large fraction of the LRDs in their sample showed signs of containing growing supermassive black holes.
“We’re confounded by this new population of objects that Webb has found. We don’t see analogs of them at lower redshifts, which is why we haven’t seen them prior to Webb,” said Dale Kocevski of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and lead author of the study. “There’s a substantial amount of work being done to try to determine the nature of these little red dots and whether their light is dominated by accreting black holes.”
Image A: Little Red Dots (NIRCam Image)
A team of astronomers sifted through James Webb Space Telescope data from multiple surveys to compile one of the largest samples of “little red dots” to date. From their sample, they found that these mysterious red objects that appear small on the sky emerge in large numbers around 600 million years after the big bang and undergo a rapid decline in quantity around 1.5 billion years after the big bang. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Dale Kocevski (Colby College). A Potential Peek Into Early Black Hole Growth
A significant contributing factor to the team’s large sample size of LRDs was their use of publicly available Webb data. To start, the team searched for these red sources in the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey before widening their scope to other extragalactic legacy fields, including the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) and the Next Generation Deep Extragalactic Exploratory Public (NGDEEP) survey.
The methodology used to identify these objects also differed from previous studies, resulting in the census spanning a wide redshift range. The distribution they discovered is intriguing: LRDs emerge in large numbers around 600 million years after the big bang and undergo a rapid decline in quantity around 1.5 billion years after the big bang.
The team looked toward the Red Unknowns: Bright Infrared Extragalactic Survey (RUBIES) for spectroscopic data on some of the LRDs in their sample. They found that about 70 percent of the targets showed evidence for gas rapidly orbiting 2 million miles per hour (1,000 kilometers per second) – a sign of an accretion disk around a supermassive black hole. This suggests that many LRDs are accreting black holes, also known as active galactic nuclei (AGN).
“The most exciting thing for me is the redshift distributions. These really red, high-redshift sources basically stop existing at a certain point after the big bang,” said Steven Finkelstein, a co-author of the study at the University of Texas at Austin. “If they are growing black holes, and we think at least 70 percent of them are, this hints at an era of obscured black hole growth in the early universe.”
Contrary to Headlines, Cosmology Isn’t Broken
When LRDs were first discovered, some suggested that cosmology was “broken.” If all of the light coming from these objects was from stars, it implied that some galaxies had grown so big, so fast, that theories could not account for them.
The team’s research supports the argument that much of the light coming from these objects is from accreting black holes and not from stars. Fewer stars means smaller, more lightweight galaxies that can be understood by existing theories.
“This is how you solve the universe-breaking problem,” said Anthony Taylor, a co-author of the study at the University of Texas at Austin.
Curiouser and Curiouser
There is still a lot up for debate as LRDs seem to evoke even more questions. For example, it is still an open question as to why LRDs do not appear at lower redshifts. One possible answer is inside-out growth: As star formation within a galaxy expands outward from the nucleus, less gas is being deposited by supernovas near the accreting black hole, and it becomes less obscured. In this case, the black hole sheds its gas cocoon, becomes bluer and less red, and loses its LRD status.
Additionally, LRDs are not bright in X-ray light, which contrasts with most black holes at lower redshifts. However, astronomers know that at certain gas densities, X-ray photons can become trapped, reducing the amount of X-ray emission. Therefore, this quality of LRDs could support the theory that these are heavily obscured black holes.
The team is taking multiple approaches to understand the nature of LRDs, including examining the mid-infrared properties of their sample, and looking broadly for accreting black holes to see how many fit LRD criteria. Obtaining deeper spectroscopy and select follow-up observations will also be beneficial for solving this currently “open case” about LRDs.
“There’s always two or more potential ways to explain the confounding properties of little red dots,” said Kocevski. “It’s a continuous exchange between models and observations, finding a balance between what aligns well between the two and what conflicts.”
These results were presented in a press conference at the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in National Harbor, Maryland, and have been submitted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
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Media Contacts
Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Abigail Major – amajor@stsci.edu, Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Science – Dale Kocevski (Colby College)
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3D visualization: CEERS Fly Through visualization and JADES GOODS South Fly Through visualization
Graphic: What is cosmological redshift?
Graphic: Dissecting Supermassive Black Holes
Article: Webb Science: Galaxies Through Time
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Last Updated Jan 14, 2025 Editor Stephen Sabia Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
Astrophysics Black Holes Galaxies Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes Goddard Space Flight Center James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Science & Research Supermassive Black Holes The Universe View the full article
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By NASA
Supporting the International Space Station is an around-the-clock responsibility for NASA and its international partners. This means there is always a team of flight operations and payload personnel working with the orbiting laboratory’s crew – including overnight, on weekends, and during the holidays.
At Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center (MCC) in Houston, flight directors organize fun activities to help these teams build camaraderie and celebrate holidays while they work, no matter the hour.
“Working in mission control is a very rewarding job, but it also demands a lot from flight controllers and leads to time away from family,” said Fiona Antkowiak, a flight director in the MCC. “We really want to make the holiday shifts in MCC extra special.”
Fiona Antkowiak (front right) and her Orbit 3 shift team members show off their holiday cookie creations in the Mission Control Center (MCC) at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Image courtesy of Fiona Antkowiak Antkowiak recalled working Christmas 2018 as a space station flight controller. That year, teams participated in a friendly cookie-decorating competition, with the three different MCC shifts going head-to-head. When flight directors started brainstorming festive ideas for the 2024 holiday season, Antkowiak suggested reviving the contest and asked the Expedition 72 crew if they would be willing to judge the entries. “They agreed, and also told us they would decorate some cookies for us to judge, too!”
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station often decorate cookies as part of their holiday celebrations and have become adept at manipulating icing in zero gravity. NASA astronaut Nick Hague shared on social media, “It opened up a whole new dimension, quite literally, with layer upon layer of icing.”
The Expedition 72 crew decorates cookies aboard the International Space Station (left), and their finished products. NASA Teams in the MCC in Houston and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Payload Operations Integration Center in Huntsville, Alabama, were joined by international partners ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) from their respective control centers. The decorating began late on Christmas Eve and concluded on Christmas Day, ensuring space station crew members could participate in the fun on their days off.
The 36 entries drew inspiration from traditional holiday imagery, human spaceflight, sports teams, and comic books. Each crew member selected their personal favorite cookie, in addition to choosing an overall winner. Payload Operations Director Jaclyn Poteraj created the winning cookie, depicting an astronaut riding on a reindeer made of cargo transfer bags, which are used to transport cargo to and store it aboard the International Space Station.
The winning cookie design. Image courtesy of Jaclyn Poteraj “We had a lot of fun figuring out how to mix the colors we wanted for icing, deciding on designs, and ultimately decorating our cookies,” said Antkowiak. “Our team is lucky to have the responsibility of keeping the space station and her crew safe, and I’m glad we can find ways to still celebrate the holidays while at work.”
Enjoy more photos from the cookie-decorating competition below.
Fiona Antkowiak prepares icing for the cookies at her desk in the MCC The MCC Orbit 3 team’s decorated cookies. The MCC Orbit 1 team shows off their completed cookies. The MCC Orbit 2 team poses for a picture after decorating their cookies. Cookies decorated by the MCC Orbit 2 team. View the full article
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By NASA
5 Min Read NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Makes History With Closest Pass to Sun
An artist’s concept showing Parker Solar Probe. Credits:
NASA/APL Operations teams have confirmed NASA’s mission to “touch” the Sun survived its record-breaking closest approach to the solar surface on Dec. 24, 2024.
Breaking its previous record by flying just 3.8 million miles above the surface of the Sun, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe hurtled through the solar atmosphere at a blazing 430,000 miles per hour — faster than any human-made object has ever moved. A beacon tone received late on Dec. 26 confirmed the spacecraft had made it through the encounter safely and is operating normally.
This pass, the first of more to come at this distance, allows the spacecraft to conduct unrivaled scientific measurements with the potential to change our understanding of the Sun.
Flying this close to the Sun is a historic moment in humanity’s first mission to a star.
Nicky fox
NASA Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate
“Flying this close to the Sun is a historic moment in humanity’s first mission to a star,” said Nicky Fox, who leads the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By studying the Sun up close, we can better understand its impacts throughout our solar system, including on the technology we use daily on Earth and in space, as well as learn about the workings of stars across the universe to aid in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet.”
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe survived its record-breaking closest approach to the solar surface on Dec. 24, 2024. Breaking its previous record by flying just 3.8 million miles above the surface of the Sun, the spacecraft hurtled through the solar atmosphere at a blazing 430,000 miles per hour — faster than any human-made object has ever moved.
Credits: NASA This video can be freely shared and downloaded at https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14741.
Parker Solar Probe has spent the last six years setting up for this moment. Launched in 2018, the spacecraft used seven flybys of Venus to gravitationally direct it ever closer to the Sun. With its last Venus flyby on Nov. 6, 2024, the spacecraft reached its optimal orbit. This oval-shaped orbit brings the spacecraft an ideal distance from the Sun every three months — close enough to study our Sun’s mysterious processes but not too close to become overwhelmed by the Sun’s heat and damaging radiation. The spacecraft will remain in this orbit for the remainder of its primary mission.
“Parker Solar Probe is braving one of the most extreme environments in space and exceeding all expectations,” said Nour Rawafi, the project scientist for Parker Solar Probe at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), which designed, built, and operates the spacecraft from its campus in Laurel, Maryland. “This mission is ushering a new golden era of space exploration, bringing us closer than ever to unlocking the Sun’s deepest and most enduring mysteries.”
Close to the Sun, the spacecraft relies on a carbon foam shield to protect it from the extreme heat in the upper solar atmosphere called the corona, which can exceed 1 million degrees Fahrenheit. The shield was designed to reach temperatures of 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit — hot enough to melt steel — while keeping the instruments behind it shaded at a comfortable room temperature. In the hot but low-density corona, the spacecraft’s shield is expected to warm to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.
The spacecraft’s record close distance of 3.8 million miles may sound far, but on cosmic scales it’s incredibly close. If the solar system was scaled down with the distance between the Sun and Earth the length of a football field, Parker Solar Probe would be just four yards from the end zone — close enough to pass within the tenuous outer atmosphere of the Sun known as the corona. NASA/APL “It’s monumental to be able to get a spacecraft this close to the Sun,” said John Wirzburger, the Parker Solar Probe mission systems engineer at APL. “This is a challenge the space science community has wanted to tackle since 1958 and had spent decades advancing the technology to make it possible.”
By flying through the solar corona, Parker Solar Probe can take measurements that help scientists better understand how the region gets so hot, trace the origin of the solar wind (a constant flow of material escaping the Sun), and discover how energetic particles are accelerated to half the speed of light.
“The data is so important for the science community because it gives us another vantage point,” said Kelly Korreck, a program scientist at NASA Headquarters and heliophysicist who worked on one of the mission’s instruments. “By getting firsthand accounts of what’s happening in the solar atmosphere, Parker Solar Probe has revolutionized our understanding of the Sun.”
Previous passes have already aided scientists’ understanding of the Sun. When the spacecraft first passed into the solar atmosphere in 2021, it found the outer boundary of the corona is wrinkled with spikes and valleys, contrary to what was expected. Parker Solar Probe also pinpointed the origin of important zig-zag-shaped structures in the solar wind, called switchbacks, at the visible surface of the Sun — the photosphere.
Since that initial pass into the Sun, the spacecraft has been spending more time in the corona, where most of the critical physical processes occur.
This conceptual image shows Parker Solar Probe about to enter the solar corona. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ben Smith “We now understand the solar wind and its acceleration away from the Sun,” said Adam Szabo, the Parker Solar Probe mission scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “This close approach will give us more data to understand how it’s accelerated closer in.”
Parker Solar Probe has also made discoveries across the inner solar system. Observations showed how giant solar explosions called coronal mass ejections vacuum up dust as they sweep across the solar system, and other observations revealed unexpected findings about solar energetic particles. Flybys of Venus have documented the planet’s natural radio emissions from its atmosphere, as well as the first complete image of its orbital dust ring.
So far, the spacecraft has only transmitted that it’s safe, but soon it will be in a location that will allow it to downlink the data it collected on this latest solar pass.
The data that will come down from the spacecraft will be fresh information about a place that we, as humanity, have never been.
Joe Westlake
Heliophysics Division Director, NASA Headquarters
“The data that will come down from the spacecraft will be fresh information about a place that we, as humanity, have never been,” said Joe Westlake, the director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. “It’s an amazing accomplishment.”
The spacecraft’s next planned close solar passes come on March 22, 2025, and June 19, 2025.
By Mara Johnson-Groh
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Media Contact: Sarah Frazier
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Last Updated Dec 27, 2024 Editor Abbey Interrante Related Terms
Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Heliophysics Division Parker Solar Probe (PSP) Science & Research Science Mission Directorate Solar Flares Solar Wind Space Weather The Sun The Sun & Solar Physics Explore More
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By USH
On December 25, 2024, NASA's Stereo Lasco C3 satellite captured an extraordinary phenomenon near the sun. In a split second, the satellite's imaging was disrupted by what appeared to be a swarm of spherical objects hurtling through space at incredible speeds.
Speculation surrounds the event, with some suggesting it could be a meteor debris field. However, the unusual appearance of the objects has raised questions. Could debris naturally form into such perfectly round shapes, each featuring a dark center that resembles donut-shaped UFOs?
This event might be a natural occurrence, however, with all the recent strange sightings of unknown drones, UFOs, and orbs combined with predictions from several specialists that something significant might happen soon in the realm of the UFO phenomena, one might wonder if these mysterious spheres are connected to something larger on the horizon?
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