Astronomers discover black hole disguised as a giant star

Astronomers have identified a unique celestial object named MoM-BH*-1 using the James Webb Space Telescope. While the object resembles a massive red star with a gaseous envelope that could span a large portion of the Solar System, it lacks nuclear fusion. Instead, it contains an actively accreting black hole at its center, surrounded by an incredibly dense cocoon of hydrogen that mimics a stellar photosphere.

In a separate astronomical context, experts note that total solar eclipses are possible due to a unique geometric coincidence: the Moon is approximately 400 times smaller than the Sun but also approximately 400 times closer to Earth. This results in both bodies having nearly the same angular size in the sky, allowing the Moon to almost perfectly obscure the solar disk.