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| An Active Galactic Nucleus |
Two pairs of astronomers have been successful in discovering in the largest and farthest water reservoir in the world until now. 12 billion light years away from the earth this reservoir holds upto 140 trillion times more water than all the oceans of the earth constitute.
It manifests itself as a large colossal mass of water vapor, located in the far APM 08279+5255 quasar.
It manifests itself as a large colossal mass of water vapor, located in the far APM 08279+5255 quasar.
Quasar is a very energetic and distant active galactic nucleus. Quasars are extremely luminous and were first identified as being high redshift sources of electromagnetic energy, including radio waves and visible light, that were point-like, similar to stars, rather than extended sources similar to galaxies.
This quasar holds a black hole that is 20 billion times more bigger than the sun.After it engulfs down dust and gs it releases as much energy as 1000 trillion suns. The water vapour is spread over 100s of light years around the black hole.
"The environment around this quasar is unique in that it’s producing this huge mass of water," says Matt Bradford from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a press release."It’s another demonstration that water is pervasive throughout the universe, even at the very earliest times," adds Bradford in the release.
As the light took 12 billion years to reach Earth from the watery quasar, the observations are coming from only 1.6 billion years after the formation of the Universe.
This large water reservoir was discovered by astronomers, led by scientists at the California Institute of Technology, using the Z-Spec instrument at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in Hawaii and the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-Wave Astronomy (CARMA) in the Inyo Mountains of Southern California.
Both instruments observe in the millimeter and submillimeter wavelenths,which occur between infrared and microwave wavelengths.Over the last two or three decades,this technique has provided astronomers better help in finding trace gases,including water vapours,in the earliest universe.
Astronomers are now inventing a new telescope, that will be a expert in measuring these wavelengths.The desired 25 meter telescope is called the Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope (CCAT). It will be plugged on the Cerro Chajnantor lava dome, more than 5,600 meters above sea level.
By measuring the trace of water and other trace gases, it would now provide help for cosmic researchers to look out for primordial galaxies and study their composition accurately. CCAT should start construction in 2013 and shall finish in 2017.
This quasar holds a black hole that is 20 billion times more bigger than the sun.After it engulfs down dust and gs it releases as much energy as 1000 trillion suns. The water vapour is spread over 100s of light years around the black hole.
"The environment around this quasar is unique in that it’s producing this huge mass of water," says Matt Bradford from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a press release."It’s another demonstration that water is pervasive throughout the universe, even at the very earliest times," adds Bradford in the release.
As the light took 12 billion years to reach Earth from the watery quasar, the observations are coming from only 1.6 billion years after the formation of the Universe.
This large water reservoir was discovered by astronomers, led by scientists at the California Institute of Technology, using the Z-Spec instrument at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in Hawaii and the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-Wave Astronomy (CARMA) in the Inyo Mountains of Southern California.
Both instruments observe in the millimeter and submillimeter wavelenths,which occur between infrared and microwave wavelengths.Over the last two or three decades,this technique has provided astronomers better help in finding trace gases,including water vapours,in the earliest universe.
Astronomers are now inventing a new telescope, that will be a expert in measuring these wavelengths.The desired 25 meter telescope is called the Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope (CCAT). It will be plugged on the Cerro Chajnantor lava dome, more than 5,600 meters above sea level.
By measuring the trace of water and other trace gases, it would now provide help for cosmic researchers to look out for primordial galaxies and study their composition accurately. CCAT should start construction in 2013 and shall finish in 2017.
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