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Abell S1063 with Pullout of GLIMPSE-17775 (NIRCam Image)

A field of galaxies against the black background of space. In the center is a bright-white elliptical galaxy that is the core of the Abell S1063 galaxy cluster. Around the core are short, curved red lines, which are distant background galaxies magnified and warped by gravitational lensing. A couple of foreground stars appear large and bright with Webb’s signature eight-point diffraction spike pattern. Toward the very bottom, slightly off center toward the right, is a small red dot that is highlighted by an orange square outline. A larger orange square in the top right corner shows the object in more detail. The object, labeled “GLIMPSE-17775” looks like a fuzzy red dot with a yellow core.

The little red dot that would come to be known as GLIMPSE-17775 was fortunately included in NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s field of view as it was observing galaxy cluster Abell S1063 for a different scientific purpose. GLIMPSE-17775 is located behind the galaxy cluster and has a cosmological redshift of 3.5, meaning it existed about 1.8 billion years after the big bang.

Since galaxy clusters like Abell S1063 are some of the most massive objects in the universe, light emitted by objects farther away can become distorted as it reaches the telescope. This effect is known as gravitational lensing. The combination of Webb’s 30 hours of observing time and gravitational lensing enabled scientists to obtain the deepest spectrum to date of a little red dot. The result: the strongest evidence to date of a hot, dense gas cocoon known as a “black hole star.”

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    22:48:48.19
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -44:32:37.18
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Grus
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    About 4 billion light-years away to cluster. 
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is about 2.1 arcminutes across. 

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    This image was created with Webb data from proposal: 3293 (H. Atek).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    NIRCam
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    20-28 Sept. 2024
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F090W, F115W, F150W, F200W, F277W, F356W, F410M, F444W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Abell S1063; GLIMPSE-17775
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Little red dot, black-hole star
  • Release Date
    June 10, 2026
  • Science Release
    NASA Webb Finds Strongest Evidence Yet for ‘Black Hole Stars’
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, Vasily Kokorev (UT Austin); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

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A field of galaxies against the black background of space. In the center is a bright-white elliptical galaxy that is the core of the Abell S1063 galaxy cluster. Around the core are short, curved red lines, which are distant background galaxies magnified and warped by gravitational lensing. A couple of foreground stars appear large and bright with Webb’s signature eight-point diffraction spike pattern. Toward the very bottom, slightly off center toward the right, is a small red dot that is highlighted by an orange square outline. A larger orange square in the top right corner shows the object in more detail. The object, labeled “GLIMPSE-17775” looks like a fuzzy red dot with a yellow core.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images were acquired by the NIRCam instrument on the Webb Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample varying wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F115W + F115W + F150W, Green: F200W + F277W, Red: F356W + F410M + F444W

Related Images & Videos

Graphic titled u201cGLIMPSE-17775, Evidence of a u2018Black Hole Star, NIRSpec, Multi-Object Spectroscopyu2019u201d shows a graph of amount of light blocked on the y-axis versus wavelength of light, microns. The bottom of the y-axis is labeled u201cfainter,u201d and the top is labeled u201cbrighter.u201d The x-axis starts with 2.80 microns at left and continues in increments of five, ending with 3.05 microns at right. A key at top left has a white line labeled u201cDatau201d and a small blue square labeled u201cModel of light scattered through hot dense gas.u201d The white data line is stepped with a large bell-like curve that peaks at 2.95 microns. It is labeled u201chydrogenu201d and highlighted by a semi-transparent purple. The data also forms small peaks highlighted with different colors: around 2.84 microns, oxygen, green; 3.0 microns, helium, red; and 3.02 microns, sulfur, orange. The blue filling, representing the model, approximately fills the bell-like curve that marks hydrogen. A smaller peak of blue also approximately fills the datau2019s peak of helium.

Evidence of a 'Black Hole Star'

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured the deepest spectrum to date of a little red dot. More than 40 spectral lines have been discerned from the data, many of which independently support the theory that GLIMPSE-17775 is a black hole enshrouded by a hot, dense gas cocoon.

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Details

Last Updated
Jun 10, 2026
Location
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

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