Scientists use the James Webb Telescope to measure a massive, quiet black hole
科學家利用詹姆斯·韋伯望遠鏡觀測一個巨大的沉寂黑洞
更新於: 2026年6月5日 上午09:15
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has reached a new milestone in space exploration.
詹姆斯·韋伯太空望遠鏡（JWST）在太空探測領域達成了新的里程碑。
Scientists recently measured the mass of a 'dormant' supermassive black hole located in the galaxy MRG-M0138, over 10 billion light-years away.
科學家近期測量了一個位於 MRG-M0138 星系、距離超過 100 億光年外的「休眠」超大質量黑洞。
Unlike active black holes, known as quasars, which shine brightly while consuming gas, dormant black holes are completely invisible because they are currently inactive.
與會發光並吞噬氣體的活躍黑洞（即類星體）不同，休眠黑洞因目前不活躍而完全無法被觀測。
This behemoth is estimated to be 6 billion times the mass of the Sun, marking a record-breaking observation distance 15 times farther than previous efforts.
這個龐然大物估計質量為太陽的 60 億倍，其觀測距離更創下紀錄，是過去研究的 15 倍。
To achieve this, researchers utilized gravitational lensing—a 'cosmic magnifying glass' caused by a foreground galaxy cluster—to focus the infrared light.
為了達成此目標，研究人員利用引力透鏡——由前景星系團產生的「宇宙放大鏡」——來聚焦紅外光。
By observing the speed of stars orbiting the center of MRG-M0138, scientists calculated the gravitational pull, revealing the black hole's immense size.
藉由觀察圍繞 MRG-M0138 中心運行的恆星速度，科學家計算出其引力，進而揭示了該黑洞的巨大尺寸。
Interestingly, this galaxy has stopped forming new stars, hinting at a deep connection between a black hole's activity and its host galaxy's life cycle.
有趣的是，該星系已停止形成新恆星，這暗示示黑洞活動與宿主星系生命週期之間存在深刻的連結。
This breakthrough helps astronomers map how black holes grew during the early universe, expanding our knowledge far beyond the local neighborhood.
這項突破性進展有助於天文學家繪製早期宇宙黑洞的增長圖譜，將我們的認知擴展到遙遠的深空。
