Powerful Quasars
by Chandra X-Ray
Observatory Center and
ScienceIQ.com
|
Image Courtesy
NASA
| Quasars appear as
distant, highly luminous objects that look like
stars. Strong evidence now exists that a quasar is
produced by gas falling into a supermassive black
hole in the center of a galaxy. Quasars are
peculiar objects that radiate as much energy per
second as a thousand or more galaxies, from a
region that has a diameter about one millionth
that of the host galaxy. It is as if a powerhouse
the size of a small flashlight produced as much
light as all the houses and businesses in the
entire L.A. basin!
Quasars are intense sources of X-rays as well
as visible light. They are the most powerful type
of X-ray source yet discovered. Some quasars are
so bright that they can be seen at a distance of
12 billion light years.
The power of a quasar depends on the mass of
its central supermassive black hole and the rate
at which it swallows matter. Almost all galaxies,
including our own, are thought to contain
supermassive black holes in their centers. Quasars
represent extreme cases where large quantities of
gas are pouring into the black hole so rapidly
that the energy output is a thousand times greater
than the galaxy itself. A galaxy with a somewhat
less active supermassive black hole is called an
Active Galaxy and its black hole is called an
'Active Galactic Nucleus' or AGN. Our Milky Way
Galaxy and our neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, are
examples of normal galaxies, where the
supermassive black hole has very little gas to
capture.
For more science facts like this
one go to: ScienceIQ.com
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Los Alamos Beginning of an
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