Published 12:27, 10 December 2023 GMT
| Last updated 12:27, 10 December 2023 GMT
Featured Image Credit: Dawam Syah/500px/Robert Brook/Getty Images
Scientists have confirmed that the largest body of water in the known universe is shockingly 12 billion years old.
Two teams of astronomers have discovered the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe.
The body of water is notably significantly larger than all of the water on planet Earth. And according to the scientists, it is the equivalent to 140 trillion times all the water in the world's ocean.
There is little chance you would spot it looking through your own telescope however, as the body of water surrounds a huge feeding black hole called a quasar, which is more than 12 billion years away.
Pretty mind-bending, right?
The observations made by the scientists have revealed a time where the universe was just 1.6 billion years old.
------ Post added on Dec 12, 2023 at 7:16 AM
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."
Quasars are considered massive celestial objects and emit large amounts of energy. Gas and dust falling into a supermassive black hole, that are at the centre, emit electromagnetic radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
------ Post added on Dec 12, 2023 at 7:17 AM
Bradford’s team was able to get more information about the water, most notably its incredible mass as they detected several spectral signatures of the water.
------ Post added on Dec 12, 2023 at 7:18 AM
| Last updated 12:27, 10 December 2023 GMT
Featured Image Credit: Dawam Syah/500px/Robert Brook/Getty Images
Scientists have confirmed that the largest body of water in the known universe is shockingly 12 billion years old.
Two teams of astronomers have discovered the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe.
The body of water is notably significantly larger than all of the water on planet Earth. And according to the scientists, it is the equivalent to 140 trillion times all the water in the world's ocean.
There is little chance you would spot it looking through your own telescope however, as the body of water surrounds a huge feeding black hole called a quasar, which is more than 12 billion years away.
Pretty mind-bending, right?
The observations made by the scientists have revealed a time where the universe was just 1.6 billion years old.
------ Post added on Dec 12, 2023 at 7:16 AM
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."
Quasars are considered massive celestial objects and emit large amounts of energy. Gas and dust falling into a supermassive black hole, that are at the centre, emit electromagnetic radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
------ Post added on Dec 12, 2023 at 7:17 AM
Bradford’s team was able to get more information about the water, most notably its incredible mass as they detected several spectral signatures of the water.
------ Post added on Dec 12, 2023 at 7:18 AM
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