Astrophysics 22 January 2026

Black hole breaks the “speed limit”: astronomers spot a quasar feeding 13x faster than theory
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Black hole breaks the “speed limit”: astronomers spot a quasar feeding 13x faster than theory

Astronomers have spotted a quasar—a luminous galactic core fueled by an actively feeding black hole—growing its central black hole at about 13 times the usual theoretical limit, yet still emitting strong X-rays and radio waves. This pairing is crucial because it challenges common assumptions about how supermassive black holes feast on gas, and it fuels the ongoing debate over how these giants grew so massive so quickly.
January 25, 2026
Webb catches a baby Sun-like star making crystals — and blasting them toward comet territory
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Webb catches a baby Sun-like star making crystals — and blasting them toward comet territory

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope detected heat-formed crystals close to a young star similar to our Sun and found evidence these crystals are drifting toward the chilly edges of its planet-forming disk, shedding fresh light on the comet mystery. Crystalline silicates require intense heat to form, but comets in our solar system mostly linger in frigid zones far from the Sun. This new research links the crystals to the scorching inner region of a young system and to winds capable of pushing them outward—an essential piece for models explaining the mix of hot and cold materials.
January 22, 2026