Astronomers discover most distant quasar
Posted: Fri, Jul 1, 2011, 7:18 AM ET (1118 GMT)
Astronomers announced this week that they have discovered a quasar that dates back to less than a billion years after the Big Bang, a discovery that raises new questions about the early history of the universe. Astronomers used the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii and the Very Large Telescope in Chile to confirm that the object, designated ULAS J1120+0641 and first spotted in a previous infrared survey, is a distant quasar. The quasar has a redshift of 7.1, corresponding to a distance of 12.9 billion light-years; it thus dates back to 770 million years after the Big Bang. The discovery puzzles astronomers, since quasars are thought to be supermassive black holes as much as a billion times as massive as the Sun at the center of galaxies, and it would be difficult for an object that massive to form so soon after the Big Bang. A paper about the quasar's discovery was published in this week's issue of the journal Nature.
Astronomers announced this week that they have discovered a quasar that dates back to less than a billion years after the Big Bang, a discovery that raises new questions about the early history of the universe. Astronomers used the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii and the Very Large Telescope in Chile to confirm that the object, designated ULAS J1120+0641 and first spotted in a previous infrared survey, is a distant quasar. The quasar has a redshift of 7.1, corresponding to a distance of 12.9 billion light-years; it thus dates back to 770 million years after the Big Bang. The discovery puzzles astronomers, since quasars are thought to be supermassive black holes as much as a billion times as massive as the Sun at the center of galaxies, and it would be difficult for an object that massive to form so soon after the Big Bang. A paper about the quasar's discovery was published in this week's issue of the journal Nature.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
SpaceX performs two Falcon 9 launches less than an hour apart
Posted: Sun, Aug 16 10:57 AM ET (1457 GMT) Virgin Galactic delays resumption of commercial flights to 2027
Posted: Sun, Aug 16 10:54 AM ET (1454 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, August 17
Ukrainian Flamingo Missiles Reportedly Hit Russia’s Progress Space-Rocket Centre in Samara
EU Today — 4:53 am ET (0853 GMT) Flamingo may have hit Russia's space program at its weakest link
RBC — 4:52 am ET (0852 GMT) MDA Space Satellites for Globalstar Successfully Launched
MDA — 4:51 am ET (0851 GMT) Rocket Lab Satellite Platforms Built for MDA Space Successfully Reach Orbit, Supporting Globalstar Direct-to-Device Communications Services
Rocket Lab — 4:50 am ET (0850 GMT) WA names Space Angel as recipient of spaceport establishment grant
Space and Defense — 4:44 am ET (0844 GMT) |
