Sunday, June 10, 2007

Most Distant and Oldest Black Hole Found

Astronomers have found the most distant, and thus, the oldest black hole, to date. The object, with catalogue name CFHQS J2329-0301 (arrow), is actually a quasar. It was discovered by the Canada-France High-z Quasar Survey using the MegaCam of the Canada-France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). Chris Veillet, director of the facility says he won't be surprised that older objects will be found in the future. The quasar is 13 billion light years away and was born when the universe was very young. Quasars are large and powerful objects that release tremendous amounts of radiation. It is believed that a black hole in their center power this release of energy.

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