The largest and farthest body of water has ever been discovered
Recently, two teams of astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery by detecting the largest and most distant reservoir of water ever observed in the universe.
This vast body of water surpasses the amount of water present on Earth by a significant margin.
Scientists estimate that it is equivalent to approximately 140 trillion times the amount of water found in all of Earth's oceans combined.
The body of water surrounds a massive feeding black hole known as a quasar.
This quasar is located over 12 billion light-years away, making it impossible to observe directly with a microscope.
The immense distance and the presence of the quasar make it an unlikely sight for us to witness firsthand.
Scientists have made observations that provide insights into the early stages of the universe, revealing a time when it was only 1.6 billion years old.
These observations were made concerning the discovery of a vast body of water surrounding a quasar located more than 12 billion light-years away
By studying this distant phenomenon, scientists have gained valuable information about the universe's early evolution and its conditions at that time.
Water can be found throughout the universe
Matt Bradford, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, commented on the discovery, highlighting its significance in demonstrating the widespread presence of water throughout the universe.
"The environment around this quasar is unique in that it's producing this huge mass of water,” he said.
"It's another demonstration that water is pervasive throughout the universe, even at the very earliest times," Matt Bradford concluded.
This finding reinforces the idea that water, a crucial component for life as we know it, is not limited to Earth but can be found in various forms in different regions of the cosmos.
Bradford's team successfully obtained additional information about the water in question, particularly its remarkable mass, and multiple spectral signatures associated with water.
This discovery marks the first instance of water vapor being detected at such an early stage in the universe. While water exists in other regions of the Milky Way, the majority of it is in frozen form.
What are Quasars?
Quasars are massive celestial objects known for emitting enormous amounts of energy.
At the center of a quasar lies a supermassive black hole, which attracts gas and dust. As these materials fall into the black hole, they release electromagnetic radiation spanning the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
This emission covers a wide range of wavelengths, from radio waves to X-rays and gamma rays.
Quasars are renowned for their immense energy output, making them visible from great distances in the universe.
The astronomers examined a specific quasar named APM 08279+5255, which hosts a black hole 20 billion times more massive than the sun and emits energy equivalent to a thousand trillion suns.
