Massive water reservoir discovered in space: 140 trillion times Earth's oceans

In a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers have detected an immense water reservoir orbiting a quasar located more than 12 billion light-years away.

This extraordinary find provides an unprecedented glimpse into the early universe, with light from the quasar having traveled through space since shortly after the Big Bang.

The vast water reservoir holds an estimated 140 trillion times the volume of Earth’s oceans. It is situated near a supermassive black hole, which weighs about 20 billion times more than our Sun.

The quasar, identified as APM 08279+5255, emits an incredible amount of energy—equivalent to that produced by a thousand trillion suns.

Matt Bradford, a NASA scientist involved in the research, highlighted the significance of this discovery. “The environment surrounding this quasar is extraordinary, as it’s generating a significant amount of water,” Bradford explained. “This suggests that water has been present even in the universe’s earliest moments.”

Bradford and his team focused their analysis on APM 08279+5255 and its central black hole. As the black hole consumes nearby gas and dust, it creates an intensely heated environment, enabling scientists to detect water molecules at such vast distances for the first time.

Quasars, discovered over 50 years ago, are incredibly luminous objects located at the energetic centers of distant galaxies. They outshine all nearby stars due to the supermassive black holes that reside at their cores, consuming surrounding matter and generating immense heat and energy.

This energy spans across all wavelengths, making quasars some of the brightest and most energetic phenomena in the universe.

Studying quasars provides valuable insights into the early universe, the distribution of cosmic matter, and the process of galaxy formation. Recent observations have revealed water vapor surrounding the quasar, extending for hundreds of light-years.

While this gas is sparse compared to Earth’s atmosphere, it is unusually warm and dense compared to similar regions in the Milky Way. The temperature of the gas is around minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit.

Though it is 300 trillion times less dense than Earth’s atmosphere, it is five times hotter and hundreds of times denser than typical intergalactic gas. The presence of water vapor indicates that the quasar emits radiation, which keeps the surrounding gas warm.

Additionally, scientists have detected other molecules, such as carbon monoxide, suggesting the potential for material that could fuel the black hole.

This black hole might increase its mass by up to six times, although the exact outcome remains uncertain. Some of the gas could contribute to new star formation, while other components might be expelled back into space.

This discovery offers vital clues about the conditions of the early universe, revealing that the building blocks of life were present far earlier than previously thought. Water plays a key role in the evolution of stars and galaxies, cooling gas clouds so they can collapse and form stars.

The discovery of such a massive water reservoir not only deepens our understanding of how galaxies evolved over time but also underscores the availability of life’s essential elements in distant reaches of the cosmos.