The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope has identified the two oldest quasars ever observed, dating back to a time when the universe was only 670 million years old. This significant discovery was announced on July 6, 2026, revealing a total of 31 new quasars from the early universe.
Insights from Ancient Quasars
Quasars are powerful celestial objects that emit light from supermassive black holes at the centers of distant galaxies. They serve as crucial indicators for astrophysicists studying the formation of galaxies like our own Milky Way. The newly discovered quasars, identified as EUCL J172902.75+641018.1 and EUCL J125308.55+705432.3, are valuable for understanding cosmic evolution.
“Before, we could only find a handful of the very brightest ancient quasars, but Euclid lets us search far more efficiently across huge areas of [the night sky] to capture much fainter light. It's a unique tool for quasar hunting,” said Daming Yang, lead author of the study.
Understanding Redshift and Cosmic Distance
The redshift of these quasars is a critical aspect of their study, indicating their distance from Earth and the time when their light was emitted. Higher redshift values suggest that an object is moving away from us, similar to the Doppler Effect with sound. The longer wavelengths of light from distant quasars are shifted into the red part of the spectrum due to the expansion of the universe.
- Quasars with a redshift of 7 or above were discovered.
- Euclid has doubled the number of known ancient quasars.
- It took over a decade to find the first 10 quasars with redshifts above 7.
The Role of the Euclid Telescope
Launched in 2024, the Euclid telescope is designed to map the universe and enhance our understanding of its structure and history. Its advanced capabilities allow astronomers to detect fainter celestial objects, significantly increasing the number of known quasars. “This finding more than doubles the number of quasars we know of that are so ancient,” remarked Antonio La Marca, an ESA Research Fellow.
The images released by the ESA not only illustrate the two ancient quasars but also show the locations of the other 29 new quasars discovered by Euclid, marking a pivotal moment in astronomical research.
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