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Astronomy / Space Discovery of the oldest black hole in the universe, a formidable colossus
- Thread starter Patrick_68000
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That's interesting, the quasar formed no more than 690 million years ago, but the light from it took 13 Billion years to get here, so if the speed of light can not be exceeded how is this possible? What is the rate of expansion using those 2 figures?
I think that would be roughly 18.84 times the speed of light. So the rate of expansion would be roughly 17.84 times the speed of light.
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No, the black hole is believed to have been formed about 690 million years AFTER the big bang - it is 13 billion light-years away, therefore the light has taken that long to get here.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42252235
... and from the OP's linked article: " ... the astronomers were able to identify and examine the quasar's host galaxy. Although the galaxy can be no more than 690 million years old, it has already formed an enormous amount of dust, and heavy chemical elements. This means it must already have formed a large amount of stars."
So it was no more than 690 million years old when the quasar formed and emitted the radiation which now has been measured 13 billion years later. Their use of "can be" rather than "can have been" is probably the cause of confusion.
[alien]
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Thanks for that, i found this also but it's a bit confusing.
http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/ab...g-faster-than-the-speed-of-light-intermediate
Ah well (I have not read it all, just skimmed) that is referring to the fact that space is expanding and that the rate of expansion is thought to be accelerating. So it is possible that a point a great distance from us could actually be moving away at a speed greater than the speed of light but it is the intervening space that is expanding, not the point travelling greater than c. (I seem to remember once reading that this is a projected condition that is expected to happen but has not yet done so.)
Hopefully someone who knows the subject can come along and explain it better (and probably correct me
).
So this means, this quasar is the center of a Galaxy which is 13 billion years old?
This terrifies me very much, just think about it! It is very possible that life happened there too....BILLION YEARS AGO!
At which point of evolution/technique the might be? Even if there started just one single planet with life comparable to ours.....how much evolved they have to be right NOW?!?
A really terrifying idea in my mind....
This terrifies me very much, just think about it! It is very possible that life happened there too....BILLION YEARS AGO!
At which point of evolution/technique the might be? Even if there started just one single planet with life comparable to ours.....how much evolved they have to be right NOW?!?
A really terrifying idea in my mind....
Finally found time to read it more and saw they had a link to another, much more simplified explanation:
http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/th...rom-each-other-faster-than-light-intermediate
Have a go at that, it isn't very long.
[where is it]
That is easier to understand thanks, yes space is strange.
