From Engineering Dropout to ‘Black Hole Star’ Discovery: MIT Astronomer Rohan Naidu Leads James Webb Telescope Study

Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have identified an extraordinarily luminous red object from the early universe that may represent an entirely new class of celestial phenomenon: a "black hole star." The research, published in Nature, was led by Hyderabad-born astronomer Rohan Naidu, a NASA Hubble Fellow and Pappalardo Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research.

Unveiling MoM-BH-1*: A New Class of Celestial Object

The mysterious object, designated MoM-BH-1*, was detected through the Mirage or Miracle (MoM) survey, an astronomical program searching for the universe's earliest galaxies. While examining distant space observations made by JWST, researchers spotted an ultra-bright, distinctively red source. Physical estimates suggest the object is roughly the size of our solar system, yet radiates roughly 100 billion times more light than a standard star. What Is a Black Hole Star? Astronomers Discover New Cosmic Object Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

Scientists suspect that MoM-BH-1* contains a central black hole roughly 100,000 times the mass of the Sun, enveloped in a massive, dense cloud of hydrogen gas. The interaction between the intense gravitational sink and the surrounding gas envelope creates a stellar structure that behaves unlike any conventional galaxy or star.

Resolving Cosmic Mysteries from the Early Universe

The finding offers a compelling potential explanation for the "little red dots"—a puzzling class of bright, red objects frequently observed by JWST across the early universe. Previously, astronomers struggled to reconcile whether these objects were dense, compact galaxies or supermassive black holes accreting matter. The "black hole star" model synthesized by Naidu and his international team provides a unified framework where both dynamic elements coexist within an oversized gas envelope.

Who is Rohan Naidu?

Rohan Naidu is an astronomer and research fellow at MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. Born and raised in Hyderabad, India, his path to high-level observational astronomy was unconventional. At age 18, Naidu dropped out of engineering school and moved to Singapore to join the founding class of Yale-NUS College, where he developed a passion for stargazing and astrophysics.

He went on to earn a PhD in astronomy from Harvard University under Professor Charlie Conroy, where his doctoral research focused on the outer reaches of the Milky Way as part of the H3 Survey. Today, Naidu’s primary research focuses on studying the universe's earliest galaxies formed after the Big Bang, understanding cosmic reionization, and analyzing data from both the James Webb Space Telescope and the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 17, 2026 10:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).