Lived Fast and Died Young: The Incredible Story of the Giant Galaxy That Was Choked by Its Own Black Hole Over 12 Billion Years Ago.

Written by Fabio Lucas Carvalho

Published on 12/01/2026 at 18:56

Estudo na Nature Astronomy revela galáxia gigante morta por buraco negro há 12 bilhões de anos, segundo dados do telescópio Webb.

4 pessoas reagiram a isso.

James Webb Data Reveals That Galaxy GS-10578, With 200 Billion Solar Masses, Had Its Star Formation Early Interrupted by the Action of a Central Black Hole That Blocked the Entry of Cold Gas Necessary to Create New Suns Billions of Years Ago

Astronomers identified the dead galaxy GS-10578 3 billion years after the Big Bang. With 200 billion solar masses, the system collapsed when a black hole blocked stellar fuel, reveals data from the University of Cambridge obtained by the Webb and ALMA telescopes.

Astronomers found a “dead galaxy” belonging to the infancy of the universe, located approximately 3 billion years after the Big Bang. The galaxy GS-10578, nicknamed Pablo’s Galaxy, is estimated to have 200 billion times the mass of our Sun.

This is an incredible size for such an early point in time. Data from the James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) indicate that this massive galaxy was likely strangled by its own central black hole.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Analysis of Early Stellar Interruption

The University of Cambridge analyzed data collected by these telescopes and discovered that this galaxy lived fast and died young. At three billion years old, it should have been at its peak, vigorously producing new suns.

However, it is dead due to this black hole. Previously, astronomers believed that a galaxy could only die or stop making stars through a violent and sudden event.

The main theories suggested that a massive collision with another galaxy or a single explosion from the black hole would have to physically tear all of the vital gas away at once.

The Slow Starvation Process

This new discovery shows that a galaxy can disappear much more quietly, succumbing to a slow hunger instead of a single cataclysmic explosion. The galaxy appears as a calm, rotating disk, said Dr. Francesco D’Eugenio, co-first author at the Kavli Institute for Cosmology.

This stability suggests that the galaxy was not destroyed by a merger. Instead, it suffered a death by a thousand cuts, as the central black hole repeatedly heated the flow of cold gas.

It stopped forming stars 400 million years ago, while the black hole is still active. The current activity and explosion of gas observed did not cause the shutdown. Repeated episodes likely prevented the return of fuel, D’Eugenio explained.

Absence of Cold Hydrogen

Using the combined power of Webb and ALMA, the team looked for the fuel of life: cold hydrogen gas. They found nothing.

The central black hole constantly reheated the gas around the galaxy, preventing it from cooling.

As stars can only form from cold gas, this persistent heat created a blocked system where no new fuel could enter. The black hole’s energy acted as a permanent barrier.

This eventually starved the galaxy of the raw materials necessary to create new stars, rather than a single explosion. Even with one of ALMA’s deepest observations, there was essentially no cold gas remaining.

Detailed Observations and Gas Flow

This points to a slow starvation rather than a dramatic death blow, said Dr. Jan Scholtz, co-first author at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge and the Kavli Institute for Cosmology.

Although most stars in this galaxy were born in a massive explosion over 11 billion years ago, its productive life was interrupted much faster than expected.

Data from JWST show that the central black hole is currently ejecting the equivalent of 60 suns worth of gas each year at a velocity of 400 kilometers per second.

This aggressive leakage meant that the galaxy drained its remaining fuel in just 16 million years. This represents a fraction of the billion-year lifespan typical for galaxies of this size.

Explanation for Ancient Galaxies and Future Studies

The discovery helps explain why the Webb Telescope is finding so many dead and ancient-looking galaxies in the very primitive universe.

A single cataclysm is not necessary to halt star formation; it is enough to prevent fresh fuel from entering, Scholtz stated.

To confirm this starvation effect, the team from Cambridge received more time with the JWST. The goal is to study hotter gases and define the exact physics of how these black holes interrupt star formation. The findings were reported in the journal Nature Astronomy on January 12.

0 Comentários

Mais recente

Mais antigos Mais votado

Feedbacks

Visualizar todos comentários

Lived Fast and Died Young: The Incredible Story of the Giant Galaxy That Was Choked by Its Own Black Hole Over 12 Billion Years Ago.

James Webb Data Reveals That Galaxy GS-10578, With 200 Billion Solar Masses, Had Its Star Formation Early Interrupted by the Action of a Central Black Hole That Blocked the Entry of Cold Gas Necessary to Create New Suns Billions of Years Ago

Analysis of Early Stellar Interruption

The Slow Starvation Process

Absence of Cold Hydrogen

Detailed Observations and Gas Flow

Explanation for Ancient Galaxies and Future Studies

A giant half-ton ring fell in Kenya from space, and more than a year later, scientists still do not know where it came from.

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

In Botswana, a salt flat of up to 16,000 km² that was once an African megalake spends months as an absolute white desert, but during the rainy season it transforms into a shallow sea that reappears from nowhere and can be seen from space in the middle of southern Africa.

Bavarian archaeologists unearthed a medieval skeleton that had an articulated iron hand in place of its left arm, and the discovery reveals that doctors were already creating sophisticated prosthetics over 500 years ago.

Cell phones in schools: learn how a year after the ban, students and teachers are already noticing positive effects and recording improvements in academic performance with increased attention and active participation.

With 1,000 buses sent abroad, the Brazilian manufacturer consolidates the strength of national technology and takes on a leading role in public transportation across all of Latin America.

More than 1,500 Chinese workers transformed an entire railway station in just one night and reduced a 7-hour journey to 90 minutes with a high-speed line of 200 km/h.

Brazilian city becomes a global destination after attracting tourists who travel up to 10,000 km to visit a sanctuary with 11 giant saints up to 10 meters tall, open 24 hours and located along a highway in SP.

JBL Flip Essential 3 SE is launched with 30W of power (20W + 10W), Bluetooth 5.4, Auracast for multiple connections, IP67 water and dust resistance, up to 12 hours of battery life, and a price of approximately R$ 660 in China.

After ten days orbiting the Moon, science confirms that the astronauts of the Artemis II mission return with altered bodies.

Pernambuco paradise with 59% of preserved area advances with R$ 2 billion in e-methanol, aims for 900 tons/day, grows 38.6% and builds electrified terminal of 400 thousand TEUs.

Brazil may have railways back on the map, but it will need the government: a study reveals 7,412 km ready for reactivation, a cost of R$ 75 billion, 61 sections analyzed, and none viable without public funding.

Lived Fast and Died Young: The Incredible Story of the Giant Galaxy That Was Choked by Its Own Black Hole Over 12 Billion Years Ago.

James Webb Data Reveals That Galaxy GS-10578, With 200 Billion Solar Masses, Had Its Star Formation Early Interrupted by the Action of a Central Black Hole That Blocked the Entry of Cold Gas Necessary to Create New Suns Billions of Years Ago

Analysis of Early Stellar Interruption

The Slow Starvation Process

Absence of Cold Hydrogen

Detailed Observations and Gas Flow

Explanation for Ancient Galaxies and Future Studies

A giant half-ton ring fell in Kenya from space, and more than a year later, scientists still do not know where it came from.

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

In Botswana, a salt flat of up to 16,000 km² that was once an African megalake spends months as an absolute white desert, but during the rainy season it transforms into a shallow sea that reappears from nowhere and can be seen from space in the middle of southern Africa.

Bavarian archaeologists unearthed a medieval skeleton that had an articulated iron hand in place of its left arm, and the discovery reveals that doctors were already creating sophisticated prosthetics over 500 years ago.

Cell phones in schools: learn how a year after the ban, students and teachers are already noticing positive effects and recording improvements in academic performance with increased attention and active participation.

With 1,000 buses sent abroad, the Brazilian manufacturer consolidates the strength of national technology and takes on a leading role in public transportation across all of Latin America.

More than 1,500 Chinese workers transformed an entire railway station in just one night and reduced a 7-hour journey to 90 minutes with a high-speed line of 200 km/h.

JBL Flip Essential 3 SE is launched with 30W of power (20W + 10W), Bluetooth 5.4, Auracast for multiple connections, IP67 water and dust resistance, up to 12 hours of battery life, and a price of approximately R$ 660 in China.

A Finnish startup presented at CES 2026 the world’s first electric motorcycle with a solid-state battery that charges in 5 minutes, travels 600 kilometers, and lasts 100,000 cycles without losing capacity.

Chinese students use smart glasses with AI for cheating in university exams.

Brazilian city becomes a global destination after attracting tourists who travel up to 10,000 km to visit a sanctuary with 11 giant saints up to 10 meters tall, open 24 hours and located along a highway in SP.

JBL Flip Essential 3 SE is launched with 30W of power (20W + 10W), Bluetooth 5.4, Auracast for multiple connections, IP67 water and dust resistance, up to 12 hours of battery life, and a price of approximately R$ 660 in China.

After ten days orbiting the Moon, science confirms that the astronauts of the Artemis II mission return with altered bodies.

Pernambuco paradise with 59% of preserved area advances with R$ 2 billion in e-methanol, aims for 900 tons/day, grows 38.6% and builds electrified terminal of 400 thousand TEUs.

Brazil may have railways back on the map, but it will need the government: a study reveals 7,412 km ready for reactivation, a cost of R$ 75 billion, 61 sections analyzed, and none viable without public funding.