Quasar in the Early Universe (Illustration) Leggins

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Researchers will use all four instruments aboard the James Webb Space Telescope to study the three most distant quasars yet discovered. They will obtain new measurements of the masses of their central supermassive black holes, detail the stars and composition of their host galaxies, and observe nearby galaxies to learn more about their “neighborhoods” in the early universe. 

The three targets of this research program at a glance: J0313-1806 dates back to 670 million years after the big bang and is 1.6 billion times more massive than our Sun. J1007+2115, or Pōniuāʻena, was detected approximately 700 million years after the big bang and is 1.5 billion times more massive than our Sun. The third target, J1342+0928, dates back to 690 million years after the big bang and is 800 million times the mass of our Sun.

Credits:

ARTWORK: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)