In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have confirmed the existence of the largest body of water in the known universe, a staggering 12 billion years old. Two teams of astronomers have detected this colossal cosmic reservoir, surpassing the size of all water on Earth combined and equating to a mind-boggling 140 trillion times the volume of the world’s oceans.
This extraordinary body of water eludes observation through personal microscopes, concealed in the vast expanse of space around a colossal feeding black hole known as a quasar, positioned over 12 billion light-years away. The revelation, capturing a moment when the universe was a mere 1.6 billion years old, underscores the ubiquity of water even in the early stages of cosmic evolution.
Matt Bradford, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, emphasized the uniqueness of the environment surrounding this quasar, generating an immense mass of water. He remarked, “It’s another demonstration that water is pervasive throughout the universe, even at the very earliest times.”
Quasars, recognized as massive celestial entities, emit substantial energy as gas and dust plummet into a supermassive black hole at their core, radiating electromagnetic radiation across the entire spectrum. The focus of both astronomer teams was the quasar APM 08279+5255, home to a black hole 20 billion times more massive than the sun, generating energy equivalent to a thousand trillion suns.
Bradford’s team delved deeper into understanding this colossal cosmic water reservoir, detecting multiple spectral signatures that unveiled its staggering mass. Prior to this revelation, astronomers had never identified water vapor existing so far back in the early universe. Although water is present in the Milky Way, much of it remains frozen in ice.
Scientists are now poised to glean further insights into the distant universe. Proposals from the study suggest the construction of a 25-meter telescope in the Atacama Desert in Chile, offering a unique vantage point for unraveling the mysteries of cosmic evolution.
Originally named the Cerro Chajnantor Atacama Telescope (CCAT), the telescope underwent a nomenclature change in 2020, christened the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST) after Cornell alumnus Fred Young generously supported the project with a substantial donation of 16 million dollars. Unfortunately, despite the visionary telescope plan, the current lack of funding has regrettably halted its realization.
