California
A massive water reservoir unlike any other has just been discovered in the universe. Scientists have spotted a region in space which contains as much water as 100 trillion times all the oceans on Earth combined.
This huge water body is located around an active quasar called APM 08279+5255 around 12 billion light years away. A supermassive black hole sits at the centre of this quasar and is among one of the largest objects in the universe.
The black hole weighs 20 billion suns and the energy generated by the quasar is equal to that produced by one trillion suns. It is feeding everything, including gas and dust, falling into it.
Scientists noted that the region had an enormous amount of water vapour. It stretches for several hundred light-years, indicating the presence of a large amount of water.
The discovery was made using a sophisticated and nuanced technology. Scientists relied on the more advanced millimetre and submillimeter technology to find the huge water reservoir.
Experts at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in Hawaii spotted the water vapour in a quasar at redshift using the Z-Spec spectrograph.
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Following this, more observations were made using the Plateau de Bure Interferometer and CARMA. These instruments confirmed that water was present in the region and that it was extremely huge and unlike anything else.
Water in the universe
The finding has astonished scientists as our Milky Way galaxy, in contrast, only contains 4000 times less gaseous water. Most of it exists in frozen form.
Such an enormous concentration of water in APM 08279+5455 proves that the environment of the quasar is capable of heating up the gas encircling it to extreme X-rays and Infrared radiations.
Scientists also believe that the supermassive black hole might grow to six times its current size because of the amount of gas present in the region that can feed it. However, there is also the likelihood that some of the gas might create new stars or be thrown out of the host galaxy.
The discovery of the water body is expected to offer fresh insights into the development of the early universe and how supermassive black holes evolve.
With newer instruments being invented to probe the universe and how it has expanded, more secrets are likely to be revealed in the coming years.