Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have observed a supermassive black hole in the early universe, located in “Pablo’s Galaxy,” causing the galaxy’s rapid star death by expelling gas at speeds up to 2.2 million miles per hour.

This intense outflow of gas, which is cooler and denser than previously detected, is quenching star formation by stripping the galaxy of the materials needed to create new stars.

The findings, presented at the Europlanet Science Congress, reveal that the black hole’s impact is significant enough to halt star formation in a galaxy seen just 2.3 billion years after the Big Bang, Space.com has reported.

The discovery confirms theories about black holes’ role in galaxy evolution and suggests that such processes can occur faster than previously thought.

Written by B.C. Begley