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Quasars are very high-luminosity objects found in the centers of some galaxies and can be up to a trillion times brighter than the Sun.
By Niamh Lynch, Sky News correspondent @niamhielynch
Wed, April 26, 2023 01:42, United Kingdom
Astronomers have solved the mystery of how quasars – the brightest and most powerful objects in the universe – ignite.
These very bright celestial bodies are found in the centers of some galaxies and can be up to a trillion times brighter than the Sun, according to NASA.
Although quasars were first discovered 60 years ago, they remained a mystery because it was not clear how such strong activity could be generated.
Now, research indicates that it is the result of a galaxy merger.
The scientists, led by the Universities of Sheffield and Hertfordshire, have found what they describe as “distorted structures” in galaxies that contain quasars.
The researchers analyzed data from the Isaac Newton Telescope on La Palma, one of the Canary Islands.
The team compared observations of 48 quasars and their host galaxies with images of more than 100 non-quasar galaxies.
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The center of most galaxies is thought to have supermassive black holes – millions of times more massive than the Sun.
These galaxies also contain large amounts of gas beyond the reach of black holes.
When galaxies collide, the gases are propelled toward the black hole where they are then consumed, releasing “extraordinary amounts of energy in the form of radiation, resulting in the characteristic quasar brilliance,” according to the researchers.
They concluded that galaxies hosting quasars are about three times as likely to interact or collide with other galaxies.
Read more: Supermassive Black Hole Pictures, Venus Has More Volcanoes Than We Thought
Professor Cliff Tadhunter, from the University of Sheffield, said: “Quasars are one of the most extreme phenomena in the universe, and what we see likely represents the future of our Milky Way when it collides with the Andromeda Galaxy in about five billion years.
“It is exciting to observe these events and finally understand why they happened – but fortunately, Earth will not be anywhere near one of these apocalyptic events for some time.”
Dr Jonny Pearce, from the University of Hertfordshire, said: “It’s an area that scientists around the world are keen to learn more about.
“One of the main science thrusts of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has been to study the oldest galaxies in the universe, and Webb is able to detect light from even the most distant quasars, emitted nearly 13 billion years ago.
“Quarsons play a major role in our understanding of the history of the universe, and possibly also the future of the Milky Way.”
The results have been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
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