The James Webb Space Telescope has found numerous compact objects called 'little red dots' that are common in the early Universe, within the first two billion years after the Big Bang.
Notes on verification
Robustly corroborated by multiple independent peer-reviewed papers, JWST survey data, and secondary science journalism sources; minor variation in exact time cutoff (1.5-2 billion years) but overall claim well-established.
Sources
- A scientist looked at 'little red dots' in the early Universe and found a black hole that shouldn't exist | BBC Sky at Night Magazine (skyatnightmagazine.com)
- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz8603 (science.org)
- https://cerncourier.com/the-mystery-of-the-little-red-dots/ (cerncourier.com)
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-are-jwsts-little-red-dots-astronomers-may-finally-have-an-answer/ (scientificamerican.com)
- https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.03244 (arxiv.org)
- https://www.techtimes.com/articles/318231/20260611/jwst-little-red-dots-mystery-lensed-spectrum-delivers-strongest-black-hole-star-proof-yet.htm (techtimes.com)
- https://arxiv.org/pdf/2503.05537v2 (arxiv.org)