Are you one of the authors of this paper? Email us from your institutional or work email address mentioning this article's arXiv ID and we'll verify you and give you edit access to this page.
Are you an author who sees something we missed or got wrong? Write to us — the subject line already carries the paper id. We read every note and correct the write-up.
Astronomers found an ancient quasar that, like millstones, grinds matter into the finest dust.
📄 Showing the "Simple" version — "Popular" is not ready yet. Add it to favorites to help prioritize it.
Using the James Webbtelescope, astronomers peered into an ancient quasar — the dazzling heart of a galaxy where a giant black hole sucks in matter. It turns out it doesn't just destroy, but also creates: its powerful outflows and shock waves act like a true cosmic mill. They grind cosmic dust particles into the finest powder, just like ordinary sand, but pulverized to microscopic sizes.
This mill explains a mystery: how the young universe got so much dust. The tiniest grains have a huge surface area that gas atoms quickly stick to, speeding up the growth of new particles.
And here's an unexpected twist: the telescope didn't spot the characteristic spectral feature that gives away carbon dust — which is almost everywhere. It seems this mill is selective: it only processes silicates, ignoring carbon.
It didn't operate for long, but it provided the galaxy with material to birth future planets.
