An international team of researchers, led by scientists from Stockholm University’s Department of Astronomy, has discovered a higher number of black holes in the early universe than was previously recorded. Using the NASA Hubble Space Telescope, this team found black holes among faint galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang event. These findings may help scientists understand how supermassive black holes were formed and the role they play in the evolution of galaxies. Hubble’s data was gathered from years of observations of the Ultra Deep Field region.

Supermassive Black Holes Found in Distant Galaxies

One of the key discoveries was the presence of supermassive black holes at the centre of several galaxies formed less than a billion years after the big bang. These black holes have masses equivalent to billions of suns, far larger than what scientists initially predicted.

Alice Young, a PhD student from Stockholm University and a co-author of the study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, noted that these black holes either formed as extremely massive objects or grew rapidly in the early universe.

Observing Black Holes through Variations in Brightness

The research team re-photographed the same region over several years using Hubble, allowing them to measure changes in galaxy brightness. These changes are signals of black holes flickering as they swallow material in bursts. Matthew Hayes, lead author and professor at Stockholm University, explained that these findings help improve models of how both black holes and galaxies grow and interact over time.

Implications for Understanding Galaxy Formation

The research suggests black holes likely formed from the collapse of massive stars in the universe’s first billion years. These findings provide a clearer picture of black hole and galaxy evolution, which can now be better understood through more accurate scientific models.

NASA‘s Europa Clipper mission is on track for its scheduled October 10 launch, aiming to explore Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. Scientists believe Europa could be one of the most promising places to find the conditions for life beyond Earth. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometres) to study whether the moon’s icy surface hides a vast ocean beneath, which could harbour the right conditions for life. The mission, however, faces challenges due to intense radiation around Jupiter.

Mission preparations and potential challenges

NASA’s Europa Clipper will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Despite concerns over some defective transistors on the spacecraft, the mission remains on schedule. The spacecraft will arrive at Jupiter in April 2030 and conduct 49 flybys of Europa, gathering scientific data about the moon’s environment.

Jordan Evans, Project Manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), told Space.com that intense radiation around Jupiter is a significant challenge. The spacecraft will be exposed to radiation levels equivalent to millions of chest X-rays during each flyby. The team has developed a trajectory to minimise exposure, allowing the spacecraft to complete its mission and return valuable data to Earth.

Investigating Europa’s icy shell and subsurface ocean

Europa Clipper will use its suite of scientific instruments to estimate the thickness of Europa’s icy crust and study its surface for signs of geological activity. Ann Allen, Deputy Project Scientist at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), explained that the spacecraft will search for organic compounds, though it will not directly search for life. Instead, it will focus on finding the ingredients that could make life possible beneath the ice.

The mission is designed to last four years and could reveal important information about Europa’s subsurface ocean, setting the stage for future exploration.

A new study suggests that people from the Pitted Ware Culture (PWC) in ancient Scandinavia likely built boats from animal skins, possibly seal hides, to fish, hunt, and trade. The PWC was a Neolithic group of hunter-gatherers who lived between 3500 and 2300 BC in regions near the Baltic and North Seas. Their survival heavily depended on the seas, where they relied on maritime activities, particularly seal hunting, as evidenced by the large quantities of seal bones discovered at their inhabited sites.

Seal Hides and Maritime Travel

Mikael Fauvelle, a researcher at Lund University in Sweden told Live Science, seals were not only hunted for food but also played a key role in making watercraft. Seal hides, along with oil extracted from their blubber, may have been used to construct and maintain boats.

Archaeologists have found traces of seal oil inside pottery, showing that these people had significant quantities of it. Boats made from such materials were sturdy enough for long voyages, which was essential given their reliance on sea travel, as per a study published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology.

Long-Distance Trade and Seafaring Technology

The PWC’s boats had to cover large distances between islands like Gotland and Åland, making seal-hide watercraft ideal for these journeys. Primitive alternatives, such as canoes made from hollowed logs, would not have sufficed for such expansive travels. The boats may have been large enough to transport up to a dozen people and animals, including deer and bears.

Evidence from Rock Art and Fragments

Though physical evidence of these boats remains scarce, small fragments found in northern Sweden and rock art depicting boats offer clues. Some images show vessels with harpoon rests resembling animal heads. These drawings, along with boat frame fragments, suggest that the PWC were advanced in their seafaring techniques.