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Webb's 'little red dots' are bigger than 'little' allows
Astronomers say the dots Webb first spotted in twenty twenty-two may be giant stars with black holes inside; the name remains the least accurate part.
On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on Best of BBNPublished
Photo: NASA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBNWatch it as it aired: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on this story, from Best of BBN at 5:50 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Wired's, the jokes are ours.
At a glance
- First reported by Wired: “Inside the Supermassive Debate Over the James Webb Telescope’s ‘Little Red Dots’”, with reporting from Quanta Magazine and Scientific American.
- Covered on BBN on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 5:50 AM ET on Best of BBN, by Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield.
- Topics: Webb, LeBron James.
- BBN covered this story before: Webb telescope may be watching one of the earliest supernovas unfold (October 22).
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
- WiredInside the Supermassive Debate Over the James Webb Telescope’s ‘Little Red Dots’
- Quanta MagazineBlack Holes or Black Hole Stars? Astronomers Spar Over Webb Telescope’s ‘Little Red Dots.’ September 14, 2026 · facts used on air
- Scientific AmericanJWST images illuminate ‘black hole stars’ at cosmic dawn facts used on air
What BBN said about it
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe James Webb telescope keeps finding tiny red dots in the early universe, and astronomers still can't agree on what they are.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentLittle red dots. That's a pretty modest name for something that has people fighting in Wired.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentScientific American says each one is at least one hundred thousand times larger than our sun. They look little the way my car looks little from the moon.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentHold on, one hundred thousand suns? And that's the low end?
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe low end.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentQuanta Magazine says one new theory has them as stars dozens of times larger than our whole solar system, with black holes inside.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOkay, I want that correction on a shirt.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThey first showed up in the summer of twenty twenty-two.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentFour years of arguing, and the one thing they all signed off on was the word little.
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Photo: CTV Santa Cruz County · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Craig Howell from San Carlos, CA, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Dllu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: MichaelBueker · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: ESO/A. Ghizzi Panizza ( www.albertoghizzipanizza.com ) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Paowee · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
The story so far
- Webb finds orderly weather on a world 20 light-years away · ScienceDaily
- James Webb reveals a strange bulge in an alien planet's atmosphere · ScienceDaily
- Webb telescope may be watching one of the earliest supernovas unfold · Live Science
- Webb's 'little red dots' are bigger than 'little' allows (this story)
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Saturday, October 24, 2026 · the Tech archive · all months
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