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Dr. Siekadellyk
Question Everything!
Registered: 04/20/09
Posts: 9,365
Loc: Ketamine
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Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe
#574552 - 07/25/11 03:42 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
H2O, anyone?
Astronomers have discovered a reservoir containing 140 trillion times the amount of water in all the Earth's oceans, making it the largest mass of water ever detected in the universe.
"The environment around this quasar is unique in that it's producing this huge mass of water," Matt Bradford, a Caltech visiting associate and NASA scientist said in a press release. "It's another demonstration that water is pervasive throughout the universe, even at the very earliest times."
Quasars are extremely luminous and compact galactic nuclei fueled by a central and supermassive black hole.
Wired UK offers a bit more perspective: This quasar holds a black hole that's 20 billion times more massive than the sun, and after gobbling down dust and gas it belches out as much energy as a thousand trillion suns. The water vapor is spread around the black hole in a gaseous region spanning hundreds of light years. Regarding light years, the quasar's incredible distance from Earth reveals an age when the universe itself was a youthful 1.6 billion years old. At roughly 12 billion light years away, it's also the farthest water reservoir ever discovered.
In other quasar discovery news, another group of European scientists recently pinpointed the largest and most distant quasar in the universe, located approximately 13 billion light years from Earth.
The following image is an artist's interpretation of the massive quasar, compliments of NASA.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/25/quasar-largest-water-reservoir-_n_908487.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
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Lighter Of Doobies
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Re: Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe [Re: Dr. Siekadellyk]
#574788 - 07/26/11 06:30 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Maybe we could send a good ol' probe over there to collect some and bring it back here?
I wonder what space water would be like...
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bryguy27007
Registered: 10/19/08
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Re: Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe [Re: Lighter Of Doobies]
#574834 - 07/27/11 12:41 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Send a probe 12 billion light years away.
Our earliest probes are just getting to the edges of our solar system IIRC. That's not even close to a lightyear. I can't imagine sending a probe that far. Plus the data/time it would take to get back to us would be astronomical ().
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Lighter Of Doobies
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Re: Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe [Re: bryguy27007]
#574946 - 07/27/11 06:13 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
bryguy27007 said: Send a probe 12 billion light years away.
Our earliest probes are just getting to the edges of our solar system IIRC. That's not even close to a lightyear. I can't imagine sending a probe that far. Plus the data/time it would take to get back to us would be astronomical ().
All the more reason to get started ASAP!
Maybe 12 million years from now we'll be in a water crisis, whatever planet we're on...
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alienscience
Farve in training
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Re: Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe [Re: Lighter Of Doobies]
#575971 - 08/01/11 06:03 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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It's a wet space fart? Besides, I think if we were to add even a small amount of H20 to the earth, it could cause problems. Then again, I'm sure we've taken enough out.
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Harry_Ba11sach
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Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 11,753
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Re: Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe [Re: alienscience]
#575975 - 08/01/11 06:55 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
bryguy27007 said: Our earliest probes are just getting to the edges of our solar system IIRC. That's not even close to a lightyear. I can't imagine sending a probe that far. Plus the data/time it would take to get back to us would be astronomical ().
We do have probes that have recently left the solar system in fact.
Quote:
alienscience said:
Then again, I'm sure we've taken enough out.
We haven't taken any water off the planet.
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alienscience
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Re: Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe [Re: Harry_Ba11sach]
#576032 - 08/01/11 10:02 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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I was thinking about the food and water the astronauts drink and transport to space stations.
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Harry_Ba11sach
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Re: Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe [Re: alienscience]
#576097 - 08/02/11 06:47 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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it's all recycled. They don't just jettison used water into the void, they clean it and reuse it.
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alienscience
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Re: Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe [Re: Harry_Ba11sach]
#576326 - 08/03/11 11:48 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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But it is still water missing from the earth while it's in space right?
EDIT: No wonder I get so thirsty =)
Edited by alienscience (08/03/11 11:48 AM)
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Harry_Ba11sach
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Re: Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe [Re: alienscience]
#576388 - 08/03/11 04:54 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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I'm not sure if the 150 gallons of water on the space station should be considered enough to launch a 13 billion light year expedition to a quasar that most likely doesn't even exist anymore.
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alienscience
Farve in training
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Re: Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe [Re: Harry_Ba11sach]
#577249 - 08/08/11 02:32 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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I was just wondering how it would impact our environment as the world only has a set amount of water on it, and we are an ecosystem. It'd be like taking cany from a baby; so to speak.
I know most people will say/think 'that's not enough' water to impact our ecosystem, but h2o is a very magical compound. Plus, it's water, IN SPACE =)
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elaspeinreason
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Re: Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe [Re: Harry_Ba11sach]
#578408 - 08/14/11 10:04 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Harry_Ba11sach said: We do have probes that have recently left the solar system in fact.
which probe was that? and what do you consider the solar system..because nothing that i know of[ voyager 1//2] has left the heliopause.
-------------------- हम सब एक है ~ We Are All One The ultimate source of happiness, successful life, is within ourselves. Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. - Buddha
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Harry_Ba11sach
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Re: Quasar Contains Largest Water Reservoir In The Universe [Re: elaspeinreason]
#578409 - 08/14/11 10:08 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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you would be absolutely correct that nothing has left the solarsphere, but since the solar SYSTEM refers to the conglomerate of all celestial bodies orbiting our sun, then the standard accepted boundary for the solar system is the outermost limits of the furthest planetary orbit (previously Pluto, now apparently Neptune although I personally still am a fan of Pluto).
The heliosphere is an interesting concept, but I don't think it has anything to do with the "solar system"
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