Some black holes may be older than the stars themselves. One could even be hiding inside our sun. And their existence could help solve one of the biggest mysteries in physics: dark matter.
Astronomers have discovered enormous black holes in the early universe that seem to have grown far, too quickly for our current theories to explain. Now, observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, alongside some unusual black holes closer to home, are raising an extraordinary possibility: some black holes may have formed in the first fractions of a second after the big bang.
These hypothetical objects, known as primordial black holes, could have existed long before the first stars and galaxies. Some may have become trapped inside stars, potentially even our own sun, tracing intricate, geometric orbits deep within their interiors.
And, perhaps most intriguingly, some scientists think these ancient black holes could account for the universe’s mysterious dark matter.