Posted on 07/16/2025 9:01:42 AM PDT by Red Badger
The ∞ galaxy is interpreted as the aftermath of a nearly head-on collision between two face-on disk galaxies with massive, compact bulges. The bulges survived the collision, and the inner disk stars were swept up in outwardly expanding collisional rings around the bulges. The nearby galaxy II Hz 4 is the prototype for this kind of binary ring formation (R. Lynds & A. Toomre 1976). Compression and shocks in the colliding gas likely produced a dense gaseous remnant in between the nuclei, as has been observed in the bullet cluster on much larger scales. It is proposed that the black hole formed within this gas. (Credit: van Dokkum et al / The Astrophysical Journal Letters)
=========================================================================== In A Nutshell
Study Finds:
Astronomers using JWST and other telescopes found a supermassive black hole floating between two colliding galaxies — not in either galaxy center, but embedded in shocked gas.
Why it matters:
If confirmed, it could be the first real-world evidence that massive black holes can form directlyfrom collapsing gas clouds, skipping the normal star-collapse stage.
Key Takeaway:
This unusual “∞ galaxy” supports long-standing theories of “direct-collapse” black hole seeds, which might help explain why some black holes in the early universe are so big, so fast.
What’s next:
Follow-up JWST observations and simulations will test whether this black hole really formed in place — or if it was ejected from a galaxy and caught between the wreckage.
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. — In a discovery that has astronomers scratching their heads, researchers have found a supermassive black hole sitting in the middle of nowhere, literally floating between two massive galaxies like a cosmic hitchhiker that lost its ride.
The finding, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, goes against everything scientists thought they knew about how and where black holes form. Instead of nestled safely in the center of a galaxy like every other supermassive black hole (SMBH) ever discovered, this one appears to have formed in the empty space between two colliding galaxies.
“We suggest that the SMBH formed within this gas in the immediate aftermath of the collision, when it was dense and highly turbulent,” the researchers wrote. If confirmed, this discovery would prove that black holes can form through a process called “direct collapse”—something that until now existed only in computer simulations.
A Cosmic Car Crash Creates Something New
This bizarre object, nicknamed the “∞ galaxy” because of its figure-eight appearance, sits about 7.5 billion light-years from Earth. Two massive galaxies, each containing roughly 100 billion stars, slammed into each other head-on at incredible speeds. The collision was so violent it created rings of stars around both galaxy centers, giving the whole system the appearance of an infinity symbol when viewed through powerful telescopes.
JWST and HST images of the ∞ galaxy. The top left panel shows a color image created from JWST/NIRCAM F090W, F115W, and F150W data, sampled at pixel−1. Key morphological elements are indicated in the F115W rendition at top right. The row of small panels at the bottom shows the appearance of the object in selected HST/ACS and JWST/NIRCAM bands. In the rest-frame K band, the flux is dominated by two bright and compact nuclei, each with an apparent ring or shell around it. (Credit: van Dokkum et al / The Astrophysical Journal Letters)
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But the real shock came when astronomers realized the most active black hole in the system wasn’t in either galaxy center; it was floating in the debris field between them, consuming shocked gas and emitting radio waves and X-rays with the intensity of a quasar.
“Remarkably, the SMBH is not associated with either of the two nuclei but is in between them in both position and radial velocity,” the research team noted.
Dr. Pieter van Dokkum of Yale University and his colleagues discovered the system while combing through images from the James Webb Space Telescope, looking for unusual objects in a well-studied patch of sky called the COSMOS field.
Based on calculations of how fast the galaxy remnants are moving apart, the collision happened roughly 50 million years ago. During the smashup, gas clouds from both galaxies collided and compressed in the space between them—similar to what happens in the famous “Bullet Cluster,” where astronomers can actually see gas being separated from dark matter during a cosmic collision.
How Black Holes Usually Form vs. What Happened Here
Most black holes form when massive stars collapse, creating relatively small black holes that grow over billions of years by consuming surrounding material. But the black hole in the ∞ galaxy appears to have formed through “direct collapse”—where a massive cloud of gas skips the star formation process entirely and collapses straight into a black hole.
Gas between the two galaxy nuclei became so dense and turbulent that it may have triggered something unprecedented: the birth of a supermassive black hole from scratch.
“The gas spans the entire width of the system and was likely shocked and compressed at the collision site in a galaxy-scale equivalent of what happened in the bullet cluster,” the researchers explained.
Images of the infinity galaxy as seen from different telescopes used in the study. Top left: HST/ACS F606W and F814W and JWST/NIRCAM F090W, with the F090W image smoothed to the HST resolution. Top right: JWST/NIRCAM F090W, F150W, and F277W. Bottom left: JWST/NIRCAM F277W, F356W, and F444W. Bottom right: JWST/NIRCAM F444W, JWST/MIRI F770W, and JWST/MIRI F1800W, with F444W and F770W smoothed to the F1800W resolution. (Credit: van Dokkum et al / The Astrophysical Journal Letters)
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Multiple Telescopes Confirm the Discovery
Using multiple telescopes to build their case, the team gathered evidence like cosmic detectives. The Keck Observatory in Hawaii provided detailed spectroscopy, revealing the chemical fingerprints of highly ionized gas, the kind that forms around actively feeding black holes. Radio observations from the Very Large Array in New Mexico pinpointed the exact location of the black hole, while X-ray data from the Chandra Space Telescope confirmed it was actively consuming material.
Scientists estimate the black hole’s mass at around one million times that of our Sun—relatively small for a supermassive black hole, but still enormous by everyday standards. More importantly, its location tells a story that conventional black hole formation theories can’t explain.
If this black hole had formed in one of the galaxy centers and been ejected during the collision, it should be moving away from its birthplace at high speed. Instead, its velocity sits right between the two galaxy remnants, suggesting it formed exactly where astronomers found it.
Gas surrounding the black hole also shows telltale signs of recent formation. The equivalent width of hydrogen emission — essentially how bright the gas glows compared to starlight — reaches extreme values near the black hole. For comparison, typical galaxies with central black holes show much lower values because the host galaxy’s stars dilute the emission.
Broader Implications for Astronomy
If confirmed, this discovery would validate theoretical models that have long predicted direct-collapse black hole formation could happen under extreme conditions. These models became increasingly important after the James Webb Space Telescope began finding surprisingly massive black holes in ancient galaxies. Astronomers say the black holes were so large they shouldn’t have had time to grow through conventional processes.
Galaxy collisions aren’t rare in the universe. Our own Milky Way is destined to collide with the Andromeda Galaxy in about 4.5 billion years. But the specific conditions that led to the ∞ galaxy’s formation may be extremely uncommon: a nearly head-on collision between two massive disk galaxies with just the right impact parameter and gas content.
Researchers plan follow-up observations with Webb’s spectroscopic capabilities to map the velocity and ionization structure of the gas in more detail. They’re particularly interested in measuring any velocity offset between the black hole and surrounding gas, which would provide smoking gun evidence for in-situ formation.
“The most compelling evidence for a runaway gravitational collapse of a clump within this gas would be the observation that there is no offset,” they wrote.
This discovery reveals the universe has more ways of creating supermassive black holes than previously imagined—and that some of the most violent events in cosmic history might also be the most creative.
Disclaimer: This article describes new research that proposes a possible “direct-collapse” origin for a supermassive black hole between two colliding galaxies. While the findings are peer-reviewed, follow-up observations and simulations will be needed to confirm this formation scenario.
Paper Summary
Methodology
Researchers discovered the ∞ galaxy while visually inspecting James Webb Space Telescope images of the COSMOS field. They used multiple observational techniques: JWST imaging in various infrared filters to study the galaxy’s structure, Keck Observatory spectroscopy with the LRIS instrument to analyze emission lines and determine redshift, Very Large Array radio observations at multiple frequencies to locate the active black hole, and Chandra X-ray telescope data to measure the black hole’s high-energy emission. The team also used GALEX ultraviolet data and various ground-based optical surveys to build a complete picture of the system across different wavelengths.
Results
The study identified an unusual galaxy system at redshift z = 1.14 (about 7.5 billion light-years away) consisting of two massive stellar nuclei (with masses around 100 billion solar masses each) separated by 10 kiloparsecs, each surrounded by prominent rings of stars. Most significantly, they discovered an actively accreting supermassive black hole with quasar-like radio and X-ray luminosity located between the two nuclei rather than in either galaxy center. The black hole has an estimated mass of one million solar masses and is embedded in extended ionized gas spanning the entire width of the system.
Limitations
The study acknowledges several uncertainties in their analysis. The black hole mass estimate relies on broad hydrogen line measurements that could be affected by chaotic gas motions rather than orbital motion around the black hole. The spectroscopic observations have limited spatial resolution, making it difficult to precisely measure individual component velocities. The team cannot completely rule out that the black hole originated in one of the galaxy centers and was subsequently ejected or displaced. Additionally, while they propose direct-collapse formation, this scenario requires validation through detailed numerical simulations and follow-up observations with higher spatial resolution.
Funding and Disclosures
The paper does not explicitly mention funding sources or conflicts of interest in the provided excerpt, though it notes that data came from publicly available telescope archives and surveys including HST program 9822, JWST programs 1837 and 2561, and various ground-based surveys.
Publication Information
“The ∞ Galaxy: A Candidate Direct-collapse Supermassive Black Hole between Two Massive, Ringed Nuclei”
was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, volume 988, article L6, on July 20, 2025. The paper was received April 13, 2025, revised May 16, 2025, and accepted May 18, 2025.
The lead author is Pieter van Dokkum from Yale University’s Astronomy Department, with co-authors Gabriel Brammer, Josephine F. W. Baggen, Michael A. Keim, Priyamvada Natarajan, and Imad Pasha from institutions including Yale University, the Cosmic Dawn Center in Copenhagen, and the Dragonfly Focused Research Organization.
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WEBB PING!..........................
Supermassive? Is that bigger than ginormous?
Wow! Great article, including image DATA rather than the always annoying “artist’s conceptions”.
Nothing to see. It’s all random nothingness.
Fight climate change.
Shift happens. Sometimes it’s because of the black hole.
I like to keep abreast of things......
Such as the black hole stays in place and the colliding matter is ejected, that which was not consumed by the black hole?
If the two galaxies collided head on, was it likely that two black holes merged into one?
That is possible..............
I could not comprehend a black hole being ejected by matter.
It’s all in the ‘english’...................
Spot on the lens.
wy69
The science is settled.
LOL when Emma Big-Uns isn’t what you wanted it to be.
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