Water surprise!
Stories from Physics
for 11-14
14-16
Astronomers have discovered the largest known reservoir of water in the universe in a quasar - a feeding supermassive black hole (ie one into which matter is being sucked). This quasar is formed of a black hole 20 billion times the mass of the Sun and emitting a thousand trillion times its radiation. The water vapour exists in a region around the black hole hundreds of light years in size and is heated to -53°C by energy from the quasar.
References
Water surprise!
W. Clavin, & A. Buis, Astronomers Find Largest, Most Distant Reservoir of Water, NASA Website, Mission News, 22nd July 2011, https://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/universe20110722.html
