Astrophysicists Puzzle Over Webb’s New Universe

Context

Writing on 2 July 2026, Quanta Magazine considers a growing tension at the edge of astrophysics. The James Webb Space Telescope has spent the last few years sending back images of "little red dots" and massive black holes that simply shouldn’t exist according to established models. The piece follows researchers as they scrap old diagrams and draft new theories to explain a universe that appears far more crowded and active in its infancy than anyone predicted, observing how science reacts when the data finally catches up to the imagination.

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