Little Red Dots

Uncommon card · No. 113094

Little red dots (LRDs) are a class of small, red-tinted astronomical objects with unexpected characteristics observed using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). They appear to have existed between 0.6 and 1.6 billion years after the Big Bang (13.2 to 12.2 billion years ago), with a majority found around 600 million years post-Big Bang. As of 2025, over 300 little red dots have been observed. Various efforts to explain these observations rely on analogies to existing stars or on models. The original reports identified LRDs as a type of early active galactic nucleus (AGN) containing a supermassive black hole. However, while this explains their age and appearance, they do not have the same characteristics as known AGNs. For example, they do not appear to emit X-rays, have a flattened rather than steeply rising infrared spectrum, and display very little variability between themselves. Other theories proposed include that LRDs are supermassive stars, luminous precursors to supermassive black...

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