A quasar is a galaxy’s core. They’re powered by giant black holes. And 12 billion light years away, there exists a quasar with the catchy name of APM 08279+5255.
This particular quasar has a black hole 20 billion times the mass of our Sun and is the largest and farthest known reservoir of water in the known universe. How big? Try 140 trillion times the water on all of Earth.
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The discovery of water surrounding the quasar, led by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, offers we lowly humans a glimpse into the universe’s formative years. And provides clues about the origins of life and the formation of our own galaxy.
A Distant Quasar Has 140 Trillion Times The Water Of The Earth’s Oceans
The data collection began in 2008 with a tool called a Z-Spec. It’s a 33-foot-long telescope near the summit of Mount Kilauea in Hawaii, which is erupting right now as I write this, so let’s hope that telescope is okay. Another team of researchers from Caltech used an Interferometer in the French Alps to study the quasar.
Water vapor helps clouds of gas collapse so that they can form new stars. With their powers combined these two independent research teams have found a new way to study the growth of black holes, the formation of galaxies, and the building blocks of life.
Water isn’t just important for human existence but for the formation of stars and galaxies.
