News Astronomy

In a first, JWST detected starlight from distant galaxies with quasars

Sizing up these galaxies could help reveal how some black holes got so big so fast

an illustration of a galaxy with a quasar, shown as a a swirl of blue and pink with a beam bisecting the center against the starry backdrop of space

Some distant galaxies host quasars (one illustrated), supermassive black holes that eat so fast they create a bright glow that outshines all of their galaxies’ stars.

NASA, ESA and J. Olmsted/STScI

By Lisa Grossman

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — For the first time, astronomers have detected starlight from distant galaxies that host extremely bright supermassive black holes called quasars.