Discovered: The universe’s biggest water supply?
Astronomers' latest revelation proves that water has been around since the very earliest years of the cosmos
The image: Astronomers have found a vast reservoir of water hovering around a quasar, an extremely bright celestial object that emits tremendous amounts of radiation and is believed to be powered by a supermassive black hole. The cloud of water vapor surrounding this quasar contains 4,000 times more water than our entire Milky Way galaxy, or about 140 trillion times the amount of water found in all the oceans on Earth. (See an artist's rendering, at right and below.) The quasar is about 12 billion light years away, so the images we're seeing are from long ago, when the universe was a very young 1.6 billion years old. Finding a huge amount of water, which appears as a gray cloud in the image below, surrounding this very old quasar confirms that water has been around since the earliest days of the cosmos.
The reaction: This is "huge," says Paul Sutherland at SkyMania. And credit technological breakthroughs for such discoveries, since we can now study "ancient galaxies caught in the act of forming stars and supermassive black holes," says astronomer Jason Glenn, as quoted by Skymania. "This huge mass of water" teaches us a lot, says Matt Bradford from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as quoted by Wired. "The environment around this quasar is unique in that it's producing this huge mass of water. It’s another demonstration that water is pervasive throughout the universe, even at the very earliest times." See for yourself:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Horror stories of women having to carry nonviable fetuses'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Haiti interim council, prime minister sworn in
Speed Read Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns amid surging gang violence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 26, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - teleprompter troubles, presidential immunity, and more
By The Week US Published