Discovery of the earliest quasars
The ESA‑operated Euclid space telescope has detected several quasars that rank among the oldest and brightest objects known in the cosmos, dating back to a period when the universe was only a few hundred million years old.
Implications for cosmology
Quasars are extraordinarily luminous active galactic nuclei powered by supermassive black holes. Their presence at such early times challenges current models of black‑hole growth and the formation of the first galaxies.
Unanswered questions
Researchers now face the task of explaining how these massive entities could accumulate so rapidly in a relatively young universe. The findings amplify an already “perplexing” issue concerning the early development of cosmic structure.
Next steps
Additional observations with Euclid and complementary facilities such as the James Webb Space Telescope aim to characterize the newly found quasars in detail and to uncover the physical mechanisms that enabled their swift evolution.