Science Wonders: NASA Discovers Huge Water Source in Space, 12 Billion Years Old, Reveals It Took Astronomers 3 Years to Search
Yesterday (4 July 2014) foreign websites like Unilad revealed exciting news for the scientific community. Two teams of astronomers, **Matt Bradford** and **Dariusz Lis**, discovered a huge body of water located in space, over 12 billion light-years away from our planet. The discovery surrounds a massive black hole that is consuming matter, known as a “Quasar.”
The discovery traces back to 2008, when a team led by Matt Bradford, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, used a 33-foot telescope situated near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. They followed up with observations from a radio antenna in the Inyo Mountains of Southern California.
Photo from: Unilad
Later, a second team led by Dariusz Liss, a senior researcher in physics at Caltech and deputy director of the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, used the Plateau de Bure Interferometer in the French Alps to search for this water source.
Bradford described the environment around quasars as “very special,” emphasizing its role in creating a “large mass of water.” This discovery highlights the prevalence of water throughout the universe.
Photo from: Unilad
However, astronomers had never before observed water vapor at such a distant location in the early universe. The discovery of water surrounding quasars allowed scientists to determine that quasars were “bathing” gas with X-rays and infrared radiation, making the gas remarkably warm and dense by astronomical standards.
Though the gas is extremely cold at -53 degrees Celsius and 300 trillion times less dense than Earth’s atmosphere, it is still five to ten times hotter than most galaxies like the Milky Way and 10 to 100 times denser.
Photo from: Unilad
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Science Wonders: NASA Discovers Huge Water Source in Space, 12 Billion Years Old, Reveals It Took Astronomers 3 Years to Search
Yesterday (4 July 2014) foreign websites Unilad Revealing good news for the scientific community from the case of the two teams of astronomers Matt Bradford (Matt Bradford) and Dariusz Liss (Dariusz Lis) has discoveredA huge body of water in space More than 12 billion light-years away from our world, a massive black hole is swallowing matter called “Quasar
Discovery Process: A Multi-Year Effort
The discovery dates back to 2008, when a team led by Matt Bradford, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, used a 33-foot telescope near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii, before following up with observations from a radio antenna in the Inyo Mountains in Southern California.
Photo from: Unilad
Later, a second team led by Dariusz Liss, a senior researcher in physics at Caltech and deputy director of the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, used the Plateau de Bure Interferometer in the French Alps to search for this water source.
A Unique Environment: Quasars and The Formation of Water
Bradford noted that the environment around quasars is “It’s very special.” In the way it creates this “large mass of water,” this discovery shows that water is everywhere in the universe.
Photo from: Unilad
However, astronomers had never seen water vapor so far out in the early universe before. The discovery of water around quasars allowed scientists to determine that quasars were “bathing” gas with X-rays and infrared radiation, making the gas “unusually warm and dense by astronomical standards.”
Properties of the Discovered Water
Although the gas is icy cold at -53 degrees Celsius and 300 trillion times less dense than Earth’s atmosphere, it is still five and 10 to 100 times hotter and denser than most galaxies like the Milky Way, respectively.
Photo from: Unilad
Implications of the Discovery
This discovery has significant implications for our understanding of the early universe and the distribution of water throughout space. It suggests that water may be far more common and abundant than previously thought, even in the most extreme environments.
Further Research and Future Implications
Scientists will continue to study this ancient water source to gain further insights into its formation and properties. This research might help us understand the origins of water on Earth, the potential for life on other planets, and the evolution of galaxies over time.
