The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope has made a groundbreaking discovery by identifying 31 ancient quasars, some of the earliest ever observed, on July 6, 2026. These quasars, powered by supermassive black holes, shone with the light of a trillion suns when the universe was only 670 million years old, representing just 5% of its current age.
Understanding Ancient Quasars and Their Significance
Quasars are among the most luminous objects in the universe, often outshining entire galaxies by hundreds to thousands of times. They represent a brief phase in a galaxy's life cycle, where material spirals into a central black hole, releasing immense energy. The discovery of these ancient quasars sheds light on the formation of the first supermassive black holes and galaxies.
According to Daming Yang, lead author of the Euclid discovery paper from Leiden University, “By finding and studying them, we can better understand how these enormous systems formed and grew so quickly—one of the greatest mysteries in astrophysics.”
Euclid's Game-Changing Discovery
Launched in 2023, the Euclid telescope has significantly advanced our understanding of the early universe. The newly discovered quasars help fill the gap in our knowledge, as past findings only represented the tip of the iceberg. The telescope allows astronomers to efficiently search vast areas of the sky, capturing the faint light from these distant objects.
