When mid-infrared wavelengths are included, the Virgil galaxy appears to contain an enormous, active black hole, with no sign of that black hole visible in ultraviolet or visible wavelengths.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by University of Arizona press release describing peer-reviewed JWST study (Rieke et al., ApJ), corroborated independently by phys.org, Live Science, Space.com, and Scientific American. Minor caveat: an earlier preprint suggested ambiguity in AGN classification, but the finalized published study and press materials consistently support the claim. [cascade flags: aggregator_dropped_primary_exists | tier=silver indep_score=0.967 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable | framework convergence=partial on JWST MIRI/NIRCam/NIRSpec observations of the galaxy Virgil as analyzed in Rinaldi, Rieke et al. 2025 ApJ study (upstreams: Rinaldi et al. 2025, The Astrophysical Journal, University of Arizona Steward Observatory press release) — publishers independent, evidence may not be | kind=attributed eligibility=high (extractor: attributed/medium)]
Sources
- A scientist looked at 'little red dots' in the early Universe and found a black hole that shouldn't exist | BBC Sky at Night Magazine (seed:space_and_astronomy)
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-are-jwsts-little-red-dots-astronomers-may-finally-have-an-answer/ (corroboration)
- https://news.arizona.edu/news/monster-hiding-plain-sight-jwst-reveals-cosmic-shapeshifter-early-universe (corroboration)
- https://www.space.com/astronomy/galaxies/james-webb-space-telescope-watches-jekyll-and-hyde-galaxy-shapeshift-into-a-cosmic-monster (corroboration)