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
|
|
Space Force releases guidelines on commercial use of launch sites
Posted: Sun, Jul 20 9:51 AM ET (1351 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, July 21
SpaceX is set to launch from Cape Canaveral on Monday
WFTV Orlando — 4:37 am ET (0837 GMT) Getting to infinity and beyond: Private Space Exploration
Univ. of Texas El Paso Prospector — 4:37 am ET (0837 GMT) Spaceport to help develop hypersonic defences
BBC — 4:30 am ET (0830 GMT) Utah ready to take one giant step toward a rocket launching pad
Deseret News — 4:30 am ET (0830 GMT) ISRO Chairman unveils plans for India’s space station by 2035, human moon landing by 2040
The Hindu — 4:29 am ET (0829 GMT) |
