In an astonishing discovery, astronomers have identified an immense water reservoir orbiting a quasar more than 12 billion light-years away.
This groundbreaking finding offers an unprecedented look into the early universe, with light from this quasar having traveled through space since shortly after the Big Bang.
This vast water reservoir holds an estimated 140 trillion times the volume of Earth’s oceans.
It is situated near a supermassive black hole that weighs about 20 billion times more than our Sun.
The quasar, APM 08279+5255, emits an extraordinary amount of energy—equivalent to that produced by a thousand trillion suns.
Distant quasar
Matt Bradford, a NASA scientist involved in the research, emphasized the importance of this discovery.
“The environment surrounding this quasar is extraordinary, as it’s generating a significant amount of water,” he explained. “This suggests that water has been present even in the universe’s earliest moments.”
Bradford and his colleagues analyzed APM 08279+5255 and its central black hole.
The black hole consumes nearby gas and dust, creating an intensely heated environment, allowing scientists to discover water molecules at such vast distances for the first time.
Quasars are not your typical stars. Discovered over half a century ago, they are incredibly luminous objects found at the energetic cores of distant galaxies, outshining all nearby stars.
These celestial powerhouses harbor supermassive black holes that absorb surrounding matter, generating intense heat and releasing tremendous energy.
This energy spans all wavelengths, making quasars some of the brightest and most energetic phenomena observed in the universe.
Studying them provides insights into the early universe, the distribution of cosmic matter, and galaxy formation.
140 trillion times more water
Recent observations have revealed water vapor surrounding the quasar, extending for hundreds of light-years.
While this gas is sparse by Earth standards, it is unusually warm and dense compared to similar regions within the Milky Way.
The temperature of this gas is approximately minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit.
Though 300 trillion times less dense than Earth’s atmosphere, it is five times hotter and hundreds of times denser than typical intergalactic gas.
Water vapor indicates that the quasar emits radiation, which keeps the surrounding gas warm.
Scientists have also detected other molecules, such as carbon monoxide, hinting at the potential for material that could feed the black hole.
This black hole might increase its mass by six times, although the exact outcome remains uncertain.
Some of the gas could contribute to the formation of new stars, while other components might be expelled back into space.
Understanding the universe
This discovery sheds light on the conditions of the early universe, with water vapor existing at such extreme distances, suggesting that the building blocks of life were available long before our time.
Water plays a critical role in star and galaxy evolution—cooling gas clouds so they can collapse and form stars.
Overall, the finding of this distant water reservoir significantly enhances our understanding of how galaxies evolved as the universe grew older.
It underscores the early availability of life’s essential elements, offering exciting insights into the cosmos’s long history.
In conclusion, this remarkable discovery expands our knowledge of the early universe and highlights the crucial building blocks of life existing in places we never thought to look.
The implications for our understanding of cosmic history are profound, leaving scientists eager to explore what else the universe might reveal.
