• Question: what is a quasar stellar radio object ?

    Asked by osman to Davie, James P, James V, Nuala on 4 Jul 2012.
    • Photo: James Verdon

      James Verdon answered on 4 Jul 2012:

      Hi Osman,

      Quasars are an astronomical phenomenon that radiates huge amount of electromagnetic energy. Most of them are a long way away from us, implying that they formed near the beginning of the universe, and have since moved away.

      I’m not sure we know exactly what they are, but I think we believe they are formed by the collapse of huge volumes of material into super-massive black holes. As the material comes together before reaching the black hole, it releases huge amount of energy.

    • Photo: James Pope

      James Pope answered on 4 Jul 2012:

      Hi osman,

      All I can add to James V’s answer is that they are found at the centre of galaxies with supermassive black holes.

Comments