Euclid space telescope finds the two most ancient quasars ever observed, 31 total in a single year
Europe's Euclid space telescope has found the two most ancient quasars ever seen, blazing with the light of a trillion Suns when the universe was just 670 million years old, about 5% of its present age. It logged 31 previously unknown early quasars in one year, a haul that took g
Europe's Euclid space telescope has identified the two most ancient quasars ever observed, located more than 13 billion light-years from Earth at redshifts of 7.77 and 7.69. These objects shone with the brightness of a trillion Suns when the universe was only about 670 million years old, roughly 5% of its current age. In total, Euclid uncovered 31 previously unknown early quasars, 12 of them at redshift 7 or higher. The pace is the real story. Assembling the first sample of around ten quasars at redshift 7 or above took more than a decade of coordinated observations across multiple ground-based observatories. Euclid surpassed that milestone within a single year of survey operations. Quasars are powered by supermassive black holes feeding at the centers of young galaxies, so each early detection is a data point on how the first giant black holes grew so fast, so soon after the Big Bang. Per ESA.