Astronomers claim to have discovered a new kind of cosmic object, a black hole “star”, which is the size of the entire solar system and glows with a brilliant red light.

The international team made the breakthrough after focusing their attention on a mysterious red spot in images of the early solar system captured by Nasa’s James Webb space telescope.

The object was lurking in the constellation of Cetus, the Whale, billions of light years from Earth. It is thought to have formed 660m years after the big bang, astronomers’ leading theory as to how the universe began.

Measurements of the exotic body found that while it resembles an immense star, it releases 100bn times more energy than any known star can produce. The energy output is far closer to that observed from black holes than stars.

“We have found a new type of astrophysical object, a black hole star,” said Dr Rohan Naidu at the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Soundgarden fans rejoiced.