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
|
|
Blue Origin describes plans for increased New Glenn launch rates
Posted: Sat, Oct 17 11:41 AM ET (1541 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, October 20
A Mars-velous decade: Celebrating ten years of TGO
ESA — 5:27 am ET (0927 GMT) How US Satellites Became Crucial to Ukraine’s Defense
Bloomberg News — 5:26 am ET (0926 GMT) How to stop Putin’s missiles before they even leave Russia
Washington Post — 5:25 am ET (0925 GMT) Fire at Starlink Center in Lithuania Was Sabotage, Officials Say
New York Times — 5:25 am ET (0925 GMT) Space Forces Central Poised for ‘Fivefold’ Growth in Coming Years
Air and Space Forces Magazine — 5:22 am ET (0922 GMT) |
