HOME | DD

Description

A quasar, short for "quasi-stellar radio source," is an incredibly luminous and energetic astronomical object found in the centers of galaxies. Quasars are considered to be a specific type of active galactic nucleus (AGN), which are regions at the center of galaxies where there is an unusually high amount of energy being emitted.
Quasars were first discovered in the 1960s as radio sources with point-like appearances, hence the name "quasi-stellar." Later observations revealed that they emit radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to X-rays, with an exceptional amount of energy.
The energy output of quasars is attributed to the accretion of matter onto a supermassive black hole located at the center of a host galaxy. As matter falls into the black hole, it heats up and emits tremendous amounts of energy in various forms, including light. This process generates the intense brightness characteristic of quasars.
Quasars are so bright that they can outshine entire galaxies containing billions of stars. Their luminosity often exceeds that of all the stars in their host galaxies combined. The extreme distances of quasars make them important tools for studying the early universe. Because light takes time to travel through space, observing distant quasars allows astronomers to glimpse the conditions of the universe when it was much younger.
In recent years, some quasars have been discovered to have redshift values indicating that they are billions of light-years away from Earth, meaning we are observing them as they were when the universe was much younger. These distant quasars provide valuable insights into the early stages of cosmic evolution, helping scientists understand how galaxies and black holes formed and evolved over time.

Description

A quasar, short for "quasi-stellar radio source," is an incredibly luminous and energetic astronomical object found in the centers of galaxies. Quasars are considered to be a specific type of active galactic nucleus (AGN), which are regions at the center of galaxies where there is an unusually high amount of energy being emitted.
Quasars were first discovered in the 1960s as radio sources with point-like appearances, hence the name "quasi-stellar." Later observations revealed that they emit radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to X-rays, with an exceptional amount of energy.
The energy output of quasars is attributed to the accretion of matter onto a supermassive black hole located at the center of a host galaxy. As matter falls into the black hole, it heats up and emits tremendous amounts of energy in various forms, including light. This process generates the intense brightness characteristic of quasars.
Quasars are so bright that they can outshine entire galaxies containing billions of stars. Their luminosity often exceeds that of all the stars in their host galaxies combined. The extreme distances of quasars make them important tools for studying the early universe. Because light takes time to travel through space, observing distant quasars allows astronomers to glimpse the conditions of the universe when it was much younger.
In recent years, some quasars have been discovered to have redshift values indicating that they are billions of light-years away from Earth, meaning we are observing them as they were when the universe was much younger. These distant quasars provide valuable insights into the early stages of cosmic evolution, helping scientists understand how galaxies and black holes formed and evolved over time.