Suggested Searches

 

1 min read

Little Red Dot at Redshift 2: Real and Simulated Graphic   

Three squares angled slightly toward the left against a black background. The largest square is at left with a large hazy spiral galaxy in its center. The galaxy has a bright yellow center and faint brown arms speckled with regions of blue that appear to wind clockwise around the galaxy’s core. Text near the bottom of the square reads: Real, 10.4 billion years ago, z = 2. A set of two smaller squares appear near the top right. Each small square shows a small hazy red dot in the center against a black background, with the little red dot in the small left square a bit brighter than the dot in the right square. The small square on the left is labeled: Simulated, 13 billion years ago, z = 7. The small square on the right is labeled: Real. A set of lines connects the large square with the spiral galaxy and the simulated little red dot in the small square.

Scientists analyzed Hubble’s ultraviolet- and Webb’s infrared-imaging and spectroscopic archival data, respectively, to confirm lower-redshift spiral galaxy WISEA J123635.56+621424.2 — nicknamed the “Saguaro” for its prominent spiral arms — met the criteria of a prototypical LRD. Additionally, the team synthetically shifted the galaxy to a higher redshift to find out how this galactic environment would appear to observers if located in the early universe. 

As the team expected, the Saguaro’s surrounding galactic structure fades so that only the bright, LRD-like source at its center is visible. This suggests that although LRDs may seem like a unique galaxy population, they are actually affected by observational bias and some features just don’t appear at higher redshifts with current technology.

  • Release Date
    July 29, 2026
  • Science Release
    NASA Webb Explores Family Tree of Newly Discovered Distant Objects
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, Pierluigi Rinaldi (Steward Observatory); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI); Illustration: Leah Hustak (STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Display), 3840x2160, 3840 × 2160
    jpg (770.21 KB)
  • Full Res (For Print), 3840x2160, 16000 × 9000
    tif (30.62 MB)
  • Half Res (For Display), 1920 × 1080
    png (453.18 KB)

Related Images & Videos

A rectangular image with thousands of galaxies of various shapes and colors on the black background of space. Some are noticeably spirals, either face-on or edge-on, while others are blobby ellipticals. Many are too small to discern any structure. One prominent foreground star at top center features Webbu2019s signature 8-point diffraction spikes. At upper right, a box shows a zoomed in portion of the image. The pullout features a spiral galaxy labeled u201cWISEA J123635.56+621424.2.u201d The galaxy has a bright yellow center and faint brown arms speckled with regions of blue that appear to wind clockwise around the galaxyu2019s core.

Saguaro in GOODS-North Field (NIRCam)

Scientists have proposed one pathway little red dots can follow as the universe matures based on their analysis of spiral galaxy WISEA J123635.56+621424.2, nicknamed the “Saguaro.” They suggest little red dots may be a temporary phase of highly active supermassive black holes.

Share

Details

Last Updated
Jul 29, 2026
Location
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact
Media

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

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From Webb

James Webb Space Telescope

Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…

Science Overview

Webb Observatory

Webb Image Galleries