Astronomers love surprises, and they’ve just found a big one. They discovered the largest stash of water yet seen in the universe, located in a distant quasar named APM 08279+5255. This quasar is more than 12 billion light-years away and houses a supermassive black hole. The amount of water is staggering—about 140 trillion times all the water on Earth.
At a redshift of roughly 3.87, this quasar lets us peek into the universe as it was over ten billion years ago when galaxies and black holes were still forming. Its brightness in both visible light and far-infrared suggests something unique is happening around it.
Matt Bradford from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory described the quasar’s surroundings as “very unique,” showing that water can exist even in some of the universe’s earliest eras. His team and another led by Dariusz Lis from Caltech used advanced instruments to detect the water. They stumbled upon it through a single spectral signal, later revealing even more details about this immense water cloud.
Redshift helps astronomers gauge the universe’s expansion. As the universe stretches, light shifts to redder wavelengths. A redshift of almost 3.9 places our quasar in the early universe, suggesting a time when galaxies appeared small and faint. Yet, APM 08279+5255 defies this norm. Its brightness indicates additional mechanisms amplifying its light.
This quasar belongs to a specific class called BAL or broad absorption line quasars. These quasars show broad dips in their light spectrum due to gas moving outward at incredible speeds. This activity means that water and other materials might be moving toward the black hole, affecting star formation and the quasar’s host galaxy.
It’s estimated that APM 08279+5255 is incredibly powerful—possibly several quadrillion times brighter than our Sun. However, astronomers wonder if gravitational lensing is at play, magnifying its light. Massive objects can bend space-time, making distant sources appear brighter or split into multiple images. This quasar appears slightly elongated, supporting the idea of lensing.
By using simple lens models, scientists estimate a magnification factor of about 40. Even after correcting for this, the quasar’s luminosity remains astonishing—around one hundred trillion times that of our Sun. Lensing doesn’t create energy; it just helps more of the existing power reach our detectors.
Studying APM 08279+5255 is important because it prompts fresh reviews of astronomical catalogs. Water vapor measurements suggest sufficient gas for the supermassive black hole to grow significantly. However, not all gas will feed the black hole; some could form new stars or be ejected into space.
Every new discovery like this enriches our understanding of the universe’s early stages. As researchers continue to investigate, they can uncover more distant quasars, revealing how galaxies and black holes evolved when the universe was still young.
Experts agree that this discovery highlights water’s widespread presence, even in ancient cosmic environments. “It opens the door to understanding more about galaxy formation and black hole growth,” says Bradford.
As technology advances, it’s likely we’ll find more hidden treasures in the universe, allowing us to piece together the cosmic puzzle.
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