Astronomers have discovered the oldest and most distant black hole — a behemoth that likely formed at the dawn of the universe, more than 13 billion years ago

The black hole, spotted 5 billion light-years away in the Cosmic Horseshoe, could be the most massive ever found.

The discovery sets a new benchmark for how early supermassive black holes can form and raises questions about their origin and growth. "When looking for black holes, this is about as far back as you can practically go,