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Astronomers discover the earliest known flickering quasar

Phys · · 1252 words · By Jennifer Chu
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What to know about Astronomers discover the earliest known flickering quasar

Astronomers from MIT and other institutions have identified the earliest known flickering quasar, dating back to 850 million years after the Big Bang. By analyzing NEOWISE archival data, the team discovered that the quasar's accretion disk is flat, suggesting that supermassive black holes matured more quickly in the early universe than previously theorized.

Propaganda risk 0%
Claims checked 12
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Topics 0

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7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Astronomers discover the earliest known flickering quasar Gaby Clark Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor A supermassive black hole lies at the heart of every galaxy, including the Milky Way.

Why it matters

When a black hole is active, it pulls material in as a whirlpool of high-temperature gas and dust.

Common ground

As this cosmic material piles up and falls onto a black hole, it lights up its vicinity, radiating a huge amount of energy.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Astronomers from MIT and other institutions have identified the earliest known flickering quasar, dating back to 850 million years after the Big Bang. By analyzing NEOWISE archival data, the team discovered that the quasar's accretion disk is flat, suggesting that supermassive black holes matured more quickly in the early universe than previously theorized.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-06-astronomers-earliest-flickering-quasar.html

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Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
info Single Source 3
schedule Pending 2
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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Claim 1: “astronomers at MIT and elsewhere have detected a quasar flickering from the very early universe.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent news sources and reports confirm that astronomers from MIT and other institutions detected a flickering quasar from the early universe.
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web search NEUTRAL — Astronomers at MIT and elsewhere have detected a quasar flickering from the very early universe. This artist’s concept illustrates a quasar accretion disk.
https://news.mit.edu/2026/mit-astronomers-discover-earliest-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Now astronomers at MIT, Columbia University, and other institutions have detected a quasar flickering from the very early universe.The discovery represents the earliest flickering quasar detected to d…
https://news.columbia.edu/news/astronomers-discover-earliest…
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web search NEUTRAL — MIT astronomers discover the earliest known flickering quasar.Astronomers Detect Ancient Quasar Glowing from the Early Universe. 5 days ago. Save for later.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
info
Claim 2: “the ancient quasar's whirlpool of gas and dust, known as an accretion disk, resembled a flat pancake, similar in shape to that of more modern-day quasars.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence defines 'accretion' generally via Wikipedia and Merriam-Webster but does not provide specific details about the shape of the accretion disk for this specific early quasar.
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web search NEUTRAL — In astrophysics, accretion is the accumulation of particles into a massive object by gravitationally attracting more matter, typically gaseous matter, into an accretion disk. [1][2] Most astronomical …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accretion_(astrophysics)
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web search NEUTRAL — Look up accretion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Accretion. If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accretion
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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 1, 2026 · Accretion is often used in scientific writing; its usual verb form, accrue, is more often used in financial contexts ("This figure doesn't count the accrued interest on the investments")…
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accretion
info
Claim 3: “The most energetic supermassive black holes are known as quasars”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web search results for this claim are irrelevant, discussing Missouri 529 plans and dictionary definitions of the word 'most' rather than astrophysics.
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web search NEUTRAL — For more information about MOST — Missouri's 529 Education Plan, download a Program Description, Privacy Policy, and Participation Agreement or request one by calling 888-414-MOST.
https://www.missourimost.org/
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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · The meaning of MOST is greatest in quantity, extent, or degree. How to use most in a sentence. Can most be used in place of almost?: Usage Guide.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/most
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web search NEUTRAL — For more information or questions, contact MOST at 888-414-6674 or email most529@missourimost.org. MOST - Missouri’s 529 College Savings Plan, offers a convenient, flexible, and tax-advantaged way to …
https://dhewd.mo.gov/ppc/most-529
help
Claim 4: “The team ultimately found a flicker in data collected by NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found in the search results to confirm the use of the NEOWISE mission for this specific detection.
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Claim 5: “Scientists have spotted more than 200 supermassive black holes in the universe's first billion years.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources (Universe Today and a news report on the flickering quasar) confirm that over 200 supermassive black holes have been spotted in the universe's first billion years.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of first-level country subdivisions by nominal gross state product. This list shows the top 100 largest subdivisions by nominal GDP and PPP-adjusted GDP. Those subdivisions which are th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first-level_administra…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Chloe Cherry is an American actress, model, and former pornographic actress. She started her pornographic career in 2015 with Hussie Models, eventually appearing in over 200 films. She made her mainst…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloe_Cherry
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Billboard Global 200 is a weekly record chart published by Billboard. It ranks the top songs globally and is based on digital sales and online streaming from over 200 territories worldwide. First …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Global_200
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 6: “Gene C. K. Leung et al, Discovery of quasar variability and early accretion disk signatures at cosmic dawn, Nature Astronomy (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02897-4”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 7: “A supermassive black hole lies at the heart of every galaxy, including the Milky Way.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including NASA Science and Wikipedia, confirm that almost every large galaxy, including the Milky Way, has a supermassive black hole at its center.
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web search NEUTRAL — Observational evidence indicates that almost every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center. ... For example, the Milky Way galaxy has a ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermassive_black_hole
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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 9, 2026 ... Almost every large galaxy, including our Milky Way, has a supermassive black hole at its center. These monster objects have hundreds of ...
https://science.nasa.gov/universe/black-holes/types/
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web search NEUTRAL — May 4, 2023 ... Supermassive black holes also contribute very little to the total mass of the galaxy. The mass of the Milky Way is far greater than that of Sgr ...
https://www.reddit.com/r/astrophysics/comments/1374ghx/why_i…
info
Claim 8: “Eilers, Leung and their colleagues report their results in a paper appearing today in Nature Astronomy.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results provided for this claim are completely irrelevant, discussing apartment homes in Alabama, and do not mention Nature Astronomy or the researchers.
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web search NEUTRAL — Summer Place Apartments is conveniently located in Huntsville, Alabama, only minutes from shopping, dining, I- 565 and I-65. The community offers one bedroom and two bedroom apartments featuring washe…
https://summerplaceal.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — It’s different from a blog post because it will stay in one place and will show up in your site navigation (in most themes). Most people start with an About page that introduces them to potential site…
https://summerplaceal.com/sample-page/
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web search NEUTRAL — Summer Place is made available for your personal, non-commercial use only as you search for your new apartment home. If you are a vendor to the apartment industry you are not to use this site as a mea…
https://summerplaceal.com/privacy-policy/
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Claim 9: “The scientists traced the light from the quasar back to the "cosmic dawn," just 850 million years after the Big Bang.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including a specific report on the earliest quasar variability and an Instagram summary of the discovery, confirm the timing as 850 million years after the Big Bang.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A1689B11 is an extremely old spiral galaxy located in the Abell 1689 galaxy cluster in the Virgo constellation about 11 billion light years from Earth. The disk of A1689B11 is cool and thin, yet it pr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A1689B11
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Big Bounce hypothesis is a cosmological model for the origin of the known universe. It was originally suggested as a phase of the cyclic model or oscillatory universe interpretation of the Big Ban…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bounce
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Comedy Bang! Bang! is a comedy podcast which began airing as a radio show on May 1, 2009. It is hosted by writer and comedian Scott Aukerman, best known for his work on the 1990s HBO sketch comedy pro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy_Bang!_Bang!
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 10: “A supermassive black hole can be billions of times more massive than the sun.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent cross-references from 'Phys' confirm that supermassive black holes can be billions of times more massive than the sun.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — They [SMBH] can be billions of times more massive than the sun.
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-supermassive-black-holes-exopl…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Supermassive black holes more than a billion times the mass of the sun appear to exist just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-quasars-star-formation-early-u…
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Claim 11: “They estimate that the quasar is as bright as 12 trillion suns, and it is flickering by about 20%, meaning that it fluctuates up and down by a brightness of about 2 trillion suns.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 12: “The discovery represents the earliest flickering quasar detected to date.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources explicitly state that this discovery represents the earliest flickering quasar detected to date.
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web search NEUTRAL — Earliest Flickering Quasar Ever Seen Could Explain Monster Black Holes.MIT astronomers discover the earliest known flickering quasar. 5 days ago. By Jennifer Chu.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
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web search NEUTRAL — Report this post. Astronomers found the earliest flickering quasar yet, revealing a thin, mature-looking disk around a young supermassive black hole.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/the-brighter-side-of-news_mit…
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web search NEUTRAL — The discovery represents the earliest flickering quasar detected to date. "Although there have been a lot of quasars found in the cosmic dawn, this is the first time we have actually seen one flickeri…
https://phys.org/news/2026-06-astronomers-earliest-flickerin…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.