u/ubermence — reddlx

The James Webb “Little Red Dots” and the Black Hole Star

I’m not sure if there has been too much discussion about it but as someone who has been following the saga of the “little red dots”, the extremely bright and extremely distant objects discovered by the JWST, there have been some interesting developments in early universe cosmology

At first, these red objects were thought to be very early galaxies shrouded in dust, and this caused some issues because the models of galaxy formation didn’t account for them being this large this early

But thankfully, we caught a glimpse of a specific red dot that was sitting directly behind a massive galactic supercluster. This created a lensing effect that amplified the object and allowed us to perform spectrographic analysis revealing that it is most likely a massive cloud of gas surrounding an early supermassive black hole

In a similar manner to the way fusion pressure can hold up a star, a black hole could theoretically hold up a glowing gas envelope that is 67 AU across. This kind of object would be so bright it would outshine a galaxy and have a habitable zone 2 light months away. You’d have other problems to deal with like the insane radiation and 1-7 million year lifespan though. This also potentially solves the problem of where the supermassives came from.

What are other people’s thoughts on the little red dots? Thought it would be interesting having a discussion about it because it seems like kind of a big deal in black hole physics

u/ubermence — 7 days ago

▲ 110 r/centrist

Did Trump's motorcade drive through newly painted reflecting pool? A White House official posted a video of the motorcade crossing the landmark on May 7, 2026.

With all the vandalism arrests happening around the reflecting pool, it seems that ironically one of the biggest sources of “vandalism” might have been a dozen vehicles driving across the newly sealed surface

In a photo posted to social media by the administration itself, a motorcade is seen crossing the drained reflecting pool, bringing into question if the peeling paint is due to it being treated as a road

snopes.com

u/ubermence — 12 days ago

▲ 45 r/centrist

It’s time for Supreme Court term limits

With recent decisions that have taken place, John Robert’s usage of the shadow docket, and the court packing that was done to stop president Obama, I propose that it is not only reasonable but imperative that if Democrats were to take back a trifecta they should impose term limits on the Supreme Court. Not just in the interest of fairness but to preserve the legitimacy of the institution itself. It’s perfectly legal use of congressional power

It stands clear more than ever that they seem to always find their way to either actions or decisions that will benefit the Republican Party. I suggest we simply recognize the court as the partisan institution it is and say that there doesn’t get to be an unelected shadow legislature that is locked in for decades at the minimum

If changed to a simple 18 year term, staggered every two years, the court would at least serve as a fair representation of who the people choose to be president. It should also be packaged with a measure that prevents Congress from preventing a president from exercising his constitutional duty

This would have the added effect of stopping the age based games that go into picking Supreme Court justices. And if a judge dies someone can be appointed to carry out the rest of their term

This effort to unpack the court will have pushback from the people who made it their project to pack the court in the first place but that is to be expected.

Do I think it’s likely this happens? At the moment no but that’s why I think it’s important to explain that this is an option. And I think it’s tangential to the fact this is more of a discussion about how it *should* be. Yes it would also require getting rid of the filibuster. I’d like to hear thoughts questions or concerns

reddit.com

u/ubermence — 2 months ago

▲ 87 r/centrist

A Delaware judge has rejected Fox News’ motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by Governor Gavin Newsom regarding reporting on a phone call made in the wake of national guard deployments in LA

At that time President Trump had referenced that “yesterday”, an alleged phone call took place with Newsom. However, this was said several days after the phone call.

In response Newsom responded with: “There was no call”. When reporting on this exchange, Fox News played the president’s words without the “yesterday” and accused Newsom of lying based on the existence of a previous call.

Also noteworthy that the amount being asked for is the same amount that was settled for in the Dominion lawsuit

u/ubermence — 2 months ago

▲ 102 r/centrist

After refusing for months to pass a bill that funds all of DHS except for ICE, House Republicans have finally caved and passed the legislation. With the $10 billion of funding almost dried up, the speaker along with his caucus begrudgingly restarted the funding to not see the same mess with the TSA begin even closer to midterms

Trump has officially signed the funding and it is expected for congressional republicans to attempt to pass an ICE funding bill through reconciliation

u/ubermence — 2 months ago