Scientists are grappling with a new cosmic puzzle revealed by images from the James Webb Space Telescope: a series of unexplained, faint red points of light. The telescope began detecting these anomalies approximately four years ago, as it commenced its deep-space observations.
These mysterious objects are particularly common in the early universe, appearing frequently within the first two billion years after the Substantial Bang. Their origin has baffled the scientific community, according to BBC Sky At Night. The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in December 2021, is pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the cosmos.
“This is the first time in my career that I’ve studied an object where we really don’t understand why it looks the way it does,” explained Jenny Greene, a professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University, in an interview with CNN. “I think it’s fair to call them a mystery.”
These objects, denominated “red points”, appear in the early universe and do not fit with known theories. (Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Dale Kocevski – Colby College)
Initial theories suggested the points could be massive galaxies powered by growing black holes. Yet, this idea lost traction as researchers found the objects were smaller than expected and didn’t emit X-rays, a common characteristic of such phenomena.
Alternative hypotheses have since emerged. One proposes a connection to the death of extremely large stars. “Some kind of very massive star dying,” Greene suggested as a possible explanation. Another theory posits that the points could be supermassive stars formed in the early universe, composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, growing to millions of times the mass of the Sun before collapsing into black holes.
Some scientists believe these objects could hold a key to understanding how supermassive black holes formed. “We know that galaxies, like our own Milky Way, have supermassive black holes at their center, and while this is very common, it’s basically a mystery how these supermassive black holes formed,” explained astrophysicist Jorryt Matthee.
“The LRDs could actually be the birth phase, or the baby phase, of this formation, and we might be observing that for the first time,” he added.
Some hypotheses suggest they could be supermassive stars or early phases of black holes; however, experts warn that it is still too early to confirm their true nature. (Referential image created by El Comercio MAG using the AI of “Perplexity”)
Research into these points progressed in 2023, when a team of researchers analyzed thousands of objects with the Webb telescope over several hours. “It really was the first program to study these red sources systematically, looking at all kinds of weird objects—not just small red dots—but among them, also about 40 LRDs,” explained researcher Anna de Graaff.
Despite the progress, a definitive explanation remains elusive. Some scientists suggest they could be theoretical objects known as quasistars, while others urge caution. “It could very well be that the LRDs are quasistars, but in my opinion, we haven’t ruled out other scenarios yet,” Matthee noted. “I would definitely love for this to be true, as it would imply that we’ve discovered a new type of astrophysical phenomenon that connects stars and supermassive black holes, but it’s too early to say for sure.”
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