NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has discovered a new and unusual structure from the early universe. This galaxy, dubbed the “Infinity Galaxy,” contains findings that could represent a significant turning point in theories surrounding the formation of supermassive black holes. The discovery, particularly its features supporting the direct collapse theory, has sparked considerable interest in the scientific community.

NASA Discovers the “Infinity Galaxy”

The galaxy is named “Infinity” because its shape resembles an infinity symbol. The ring structures surrounding two compact, red nuclei create this visual effect. However, the striking feature of this structure isn’t just the visual similarity.

At the center of the galaxy, right between the two nuclei, lies a black hole nestled within a massive mass of gas. This observed location suggests that the black hole wasn’t transported there later, but rather formed in its current location. Researchers suggest that this formation occurred quite recently.

The Infinity Galaxy is thought to have formed from the collision of two spiral galaxies. The two nuclei in the image correspond to these two galaxies. At the center of this collision lies a young black hole with a mass approximately one million times that of the Sun.

The black hole is located within a massive gas cloud. Experts believe this structure could be a vivid example of the direct collapse theory. According to this scenario, the dense knot of gas formed during the collision of the galaxies may have collapsed directly into a supermassive black hole before reaching the stellar phase.

The classical view holds that black holes form through the collapse of massive stars. However, some supermassive black holes that emerged when the universe was still young cannot be explained by this classical model. Therefore, the direct collapse model, one of the alternative theories, has once again been brought to the forefront with this discovery.

Prof. Pieter van Dokkum, a member of the research team, states that the data obtained from the Infinity Galaxy indicate that the direct collapse process may have occurred in this galaxy. Van Dokkum stated that the current data do not definitively prove the process, and that some rival theories have been ruled out in light of these observations. The observation team is continuing its work to obtain higher-resolution data.