Astronomers discover 83 supermassive black holes 13 billion light-years away

Agencies
March 15, 2019

Washington, Mar 15: Astronomers have discovered 83 quasars powered by supermassive black holes 13 billion light-years away from the Earth, from a time when the universe was less than 10 per cent of its present age.

“It is remarkable that such massive dense objects were able to form so soon after the Big Bang,” said Michael Strauss, a professor at Princeton University in the US.

“Understanding how black holes can form in the early universe, and just how common they are, is a challenge for our cosmological models,” Strauss said in a statement.

This finding, published in The Astrophysical Journal, increases the number of black holes known at that epoch  considerably, and reveals, for the first time, how common they are early in the universe’s history.

In addition, it provides new insight into the effect of black holes on the physical state of gas in the early universe in its first billion years.

Supermassive black holes, found at the centers of galaxies, can be millions or even billions of times more massive than the Sun.

While they are prevalent today, it is unclear when they first formed, and how many existed in the distant early universe.

A supermassive black hole becomes visible when gas accretes onto it, causing it to shine as a “quasar.” Previous studies have been sensitive only to the very rare, most luminous quasars, and thus the most massive black holes.

The new discoveries probe the population of fainter quasars, powered by black holes with masses comparable to most black holes seen in the present-day universe.

The team used data taken with “Hyper Suprime-Cam” (HSC) instrument, mounted on the Subaru Telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, which is located on the summit of Maunakea in Hawaii.

The researchers selected distant quasar candidates from the sensitive HSC survey data.

They then carried out an intensive observational campaign to obtain spectra of those candidates, using three telescopes: the Subaru Telescope; the Gran Telescopio Canarias on the island of La Palma in the Canaries, Spain; and the Gemini South Telescope in Chile.

The survey revealed 83 previously unknown very distant quasars.

Comments

ABDUL AZIZ SHE…
 - 
Saturday, 16 Mar 2019

SUBHAANALLAH

 

 
ALLAH ALMIGHTY CREATED EVERTHING  INCLUDING WHOLE UNIVERSE AND WHAT IS IN IT,

HUMAN BEING CANNOT REACH TO UNDERSTAND IT,  HUMAN LIFE NOT SUFFEICENT TO REACH AND KNOW EVERYTHING.

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News Network
June 3,2020

New Delhi, Jun 3: India registered its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases on Wednesday with 8,909 more cases reported in the last 24 hours, taking the country's tally to 2,07,615, while the death toll rose to 5,815 according to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood to 1,01,497 while 1,00,303 people have been cured/discharged/migrated.

According to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, out of all the states, Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases with 72,300 patients followed by Tamil Nadu with 24,586 cases.

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News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: India on Tuesday reported 8,171 more COVID-19 cases and 204 deaths in the last 24 hours as the country's virus count inches closer to two lakh, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of cases in the country now stands at 1,98,706 including 97,581 active cases, 95,527 cured/discharged/migrated and 5,598 deaths.

Cases in Maharashtra have crossed 70,000 including over 30,000 recovered while Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 tally jumped to 23,495.

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News Network
May 7,2020

Dubai/Abu Dhabi, May 7: A group passengers who are scheduled to fly to Kozhikode on the first COVID-19 Indian repatriation flight have begun streaming in to Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport.

Wearing masks and gloves, the passengers are now waiting for the medical screening and check-in services to begin.

Airport officials gave entry to the departure terminal only to passengers with tickets.

Naif resident Mahamood P.P, 60, was among the first to reach as he was not informed about the change in the flight schedule, he told Gulf News.

“I reached here at 9.30am as I didn’t get any information about the 2.10pm flight getting rescheduled to the evening,” he said.

Suffering from a heart disease, Mahmood, who works as a juice maker at a juice shop near Naif Police station, said he stepped out of his room for the first time in two months.

“As there were many cases in Naif, I never went out because of my health condition. Since I was not in contact with anyone else other than my roommates who also never went out, I didn’t go for the COVID screening also. I was worried that I might be exposed to infection while waiting for the tests,” he said.

He thanked the Indian Consulate for giving him priority to fly home. “I need to go for my heart checkup. So I wanted to fly home as soon as possible.”

However, he said his son, a civil engineer who came here searching for a job, is not flying back though he is on a visit visa.

“Since the UAE government has allowed people on visit visa to stay here till December, he has decided to try his luck in getting a job,” said Mahamood.

Sneha Thomas, who is eight months pregnant, was also among the first to arrive at the airport.

Her husband Somi Jose came to drop her.

Thomas is among 11 pregnant women flying on the Dubai-Kozhikode flight.

Sharjah resident for 30 years, Mohammed Ali Yaseen, who is also the secretary of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre in Sharjah, said he is flying home as the restaurant he was running had to be closed due to a demolition plan of the building.

“Three months ago I got the notice to vacate the building and I had to close the restaurant. I was looking for another shop. But then the coronavirus hit. Now there is no point in me opening me a new shop as those who are already operational are not getting any business.”

He said he decided to drop the plan and go home for now. “My visa and license are still valid. I will try to come back when this pandemic ends and things are better.”

Meanwhile, at the Au Dhabi International Airport, families with kids were given priority to proceed towrards check-in. at terminal 3. The passengers coming in right now were mostly women who were on a visit visa. Pregnant women and the elderly too were given priority.

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