Webb Space Telescope spots most distant black hole yet. More may be lurking

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have discovered the most distant black hole yet using NASA’s Webb Space Telescope. A Texas-led research team says this black hole is at the center of a galaxy created a mere 570 million years after the Big Bang. That’s 100 million years closer to the beginning of the cosmos than a black hole observed by a Chinese team in 2021. Don’t expect the new record to last long. Scientists say Webb has already spotted other black holes that appear to be even more distant, but those findings are still under review.