In a galaxy far, far away—11.1 billion light-years away, to be exact—researchers have discovered the telltale signature of water.
The water molecules seem to be located in the galaxy's center, where a supermassive black hole called a quasar is spewing out tons of radiation as material falls into it. The water molecules lie in clouds of dust and gas that feed the black hole, and appear to be amplifying radio waves at a specific frequency, forming what's called a maser, or the radio equivalent of a laser [Wired News].
The quasar, called MG J0414+0534, is so far away that the light researchers are observing originated when the universe was only 2.5 billion years old.
"We now know water is out there," says Violette Impellizzeri from the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany. "Because water masers arise close to the cores of galaxies, our result opens new ...
