Infinity Galaxy Births a Supermassive Black Hole

Astronomers report a rare infinity shaped galaxy may host the birth of a supermassive black hole.

Infinity Galaxy Births a Supermassive Black Hole

Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory have identified a galaxy nicknamed Infinity Galaxy, formed from a collision of two disk galaxies. The shape resembles a figure eight, and a central black hole about one million solar masses appears to sit between the two merging cores. The claim, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on July 15 2025, suggests this could be the first direct observation of a black hole forming from gas collapse rather than stellar death.

The team led by Pieter van Dokkum at Yale used Keck’s LRIS to measure distance and motion, and followed up with multiwavelength data from JWST, the Very Large Array and Chandra X ray Observatory. The black hole sits in the middle of the infinity shape, not at a nucleus, hinting at an unusual formation path in a turbulent early universe. While the findings are intriguing, researchers say further observations and computer simulations are needed to confirm the birth scenario.

If confirmed, this finding could upend current ideas about how supermassive black holes grow. A direct collapse during a galactic collision would add a new route to seed giants in the universe’s youth, when interactions were common. Yet the evidence rests on a single object and on how the geometry is interpreted from our vantage point. Critics will ask for independent confirmation and robust modeling to rule out alternative explanations, such as projection effects or unusual gas dynamics. The story also shows how flexible observing programs and new instruments empower scientists to chase bold targets that fixed surveys might overlook.

Highlights

The cosmos preserves its puzzles, awaiting clearer answers with each new observation.