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What are primordial black holes?

These are hypothetical black holes thought to have formed in the universe's first moments, not from collapsing stars like most black holes we know. The story's object, Phoebe, is a candidate for one, as its small size and the way it was detected fit the profile for these ancient, elusive cosmic entities.

Stories that explain this

Mysterious space object Phoebe might be a tiny black hole from Big Bang

Related explainers

How do we find tiny black holes? What is gravitational microlensing? What is the Large Magellanic Cloud? What are black hole stars? How do black holes spin? How did early black holes grow? The 'black box' problem What is black cohosh?

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