Articles tagged with Quasars
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found galaxies containing quasars that act as gravitational lenses, distorting images of aligned galaxies. Quasars are powered by supermassive black holes and help estimate the mass of host galaxies.
Astronomers have discovered two gigantic black holes with masses about 10 billion times the mass of our sun, surpassing previous measurements by more than 50 per cent. The discovery suggests that these massive black holes may be the dormant remains of extremely luminous quasars from billions of years ago.
Astronomers have discovered the largest black holes to date, two monsters with masses equivalent to 10 billion suns threatening to consume anything within a region five times the size of our solar system. These black holes are located in giant elliptical galaxies more than 300 million light years from Earth.
Galaxies continuously recycle immense volumes of hydrogen gas and heavy elements, allowing successive generations of stars to form. The process is driven by gas-rich star-forming spiral galaxies that can evolve into elliptical galaxies without star formation.
Astronomers have found the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe, located in a distant quasar with a massive black hole. The discovery provides valuable information about the early universe's water vapor behavior and its influence on cosmic evolution.
Researchers detected massive water vapor in a distant quasar, equivalent to 34 billion times the mass of Earth. The discovery was made using a spectrograph called Z-Spec and reveals a time when the universe was only 1.6 billion years old.
Astronomers have discovered a massive reservoir of water vapor 30 billion light-years away in a quasar, which is 100,000 times more massive than the sun. The water vapor is distributed around a black hole and provides insights into its environment.
A new study by Brigham Young University researchers reveals that black holes' movement, including lateral motion and spin, fuels massive jets of energy known as quasars. The study confirms a long-held theory while introducing a new component: that black holes' lateral movement also powers these jets.
Scientists have discovered the most distant quasar to date, ULAS J1120+0641, with a redshift of 7.1, providing a unique opportunity to study the early universe. The object's massive black hole is estimated to be two billion times that of our Sun, challenging current theories on its growth.
The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) has created the biggest 3-D map of the distant universe, using light from 14,000 quasars. The map demonstrates that it is possible to determine variations in the density of intergalactic hydrogen gas at cosmological distances and measure the effects of dark energy.
The e-MERLIN telescope has captured the first image of a galaxy with its gravitational lens, revealing multiple images of a quasar billions of light years away. This groundbreaking observation demonstrates the power of the new telescope system in studying the fine details of astronomical events.
Astronomers have confirmed that Hanny's Voorwerp is a large cloud of glowing gas illuminated by the light from a quasar, which has since burned out. The team found that the quasar lighting up the gas took up to 70,000 years to travel through space.
Astronomers have discovered a quasar that acts as a gravitational lens, allowing them to weigh and measure a distant galaxy containing a black hole. This groundbreaking observation was made possible by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey database and will provide new insights into the distribution of matter in the universe.
Astronomers have discovered the first case of a distant galaxy being magnified by a quasar, allowing them to measure the masses of these host galaxies. This breakthrough provides new insights into galaxy formation and evolution, enabling scientists to better understand the relationship between quasars and their host galaxies.
Astronomers at Yale University have discovered that supermassive black holes undergo huge growth spurts during galactic collisions and remain veiled in dust for extended periods. The team found that these growing black holes spend about half their lives hidden behind a 'veil' of dust.
Astronomers have discovered two ancient supermassive black holes that provide insight into the universe's early evolution. The objects lack characteristic signatures of hot dust, suggesting they formed in a dust-free medium at the earliest stages of universe formation.
Astronomers have observed fast-growing primitive black holes at the center of distant galaxies, weighing between 100 million and 10 billion solar masses. The researchers found that these black holes are active and growing, and their growth is linked to the formation of stars in the galaxy.
Researchers have found conclusive evidence of a binary quasar formed by the merger of two galaxies. The discovery uses images from the Carnegie Institution's Magellan telescope in Chile to show tidal tails produced by gravitational attraction, confirming the merger origin for the binary quasar system.
Astronomers are using a record-breaking 35-telescope array to measure the sky with extreme precision. The project aims to create a stronger, more precise reference grid for celestial positions.
A new celestial map, ICRF2, provides precise location of the Earth's orientation for GPS navigation. The map uses observations of approximately 3,000 quasars and a network of radio telescopes to achieve high accuracy, with uncertainties as small as 40 microarcseconds.
BOSS is the largest survey in SDSS-III, measuring 1.4 million galaxies and 160,000 quasars to trace the details of the Universe's expansion history. The observation program will take five years and provide rich insights into cosmic structure and the contents of the Universe.
Researchers discovered a mechanism for regulating the rate at which stellar-mass black holes grow, suggesting that they can regulate themselves. The study found that the black hole in GRS 1915+105 toggles between expelling mass via a jet and a wind from its accretion disk.
In a groundbreaking study, scientists have discovered that stars were forming at an incredible rate in the core region of an infant galaxy. With a diameter of just 4000 light-years, the star-forming core of J1148+5251 is incredibly productive and reaches its physical limit.
A team of Australian astronomers discovered a puzzling lack of hydrogen gas in distant galaxies, which contradicts expectations based on the Universe's life cycle. The observed absence may be due to the destruction of hydrogen by quasars' intense radiation, leaving behind only ionised particles.
Astronomers have discovered a rare event in the life of a distant quasar, marking the first time a huge flow of gas has been seen coming from one. This observation sheds light on how quasars come into being and may hold clues to galaxy formation.
A Dutch school teacher, Hanny van Arkel, discovered a mysterious gaseous object with a hole in the center while classifying galaxy images on the Galaxy Zoo project. Scientists are now investigating this phenomenon, known as 'Hanny's Voorwerp,' which they believe could be a new class of astronomical object, possibly a quasar.
Researchers have successfully visualized the elusive disks of matter surrounding supermassive black holes using a polarising filter on the UK Infrared Telescope. This breakthrough allows scientists to study these black holes in greater detail, shedding light on their structure and composition.
Maarten Schmidt's discovery of high redshifts in quasar 3C273 led to a new understanding of quasars as compact halos surrounding massive black holes. He shares the award with Donald Lynden-Bell for their contributions to astrophysics.
Seven pioneering scientists recognized for transforming human knowledge in nanoscience, neuroscience and astrophysics. The Kavli prizes have been awarded to seven scientists who have advanced our understanding of ultra-small matter properties, brain circuitry and quasars.
Researchers used XMM-Newton to observe four polar BAL quasars, finding two of them emitted more X-rays than anticipated, suggesting a lack of absorbing gas. This discovery may indicate that BAL quasars are more complex than initially thought, with both equatorial and polar outflows potentially occurring simultaneously.
A team from Rochester Institute of Technology has confirmed that supermassive black holes launch rotating winds that shape galaxies and regulate their growth. The findings, reported in Nature, provide direct observational confirmation of a long-standing theory about quasar winds.
Computer simulations show that supermassive black hole (SMBH) triple interactions occur frequently, even in the present-day universe. These violent encounters can lead to SMBH binaries being kicked out of galaxies and wandering through space.
Astronomers found a trio of supermassive black holes in the Virgo constellation, 10.5 billion light-years away, with same redshift and distinct properties, raising questions about galaxy interactions and fundamental relationships between galaxies and black holes.
Researchers found that quasars with large black holes are more variable than those with low black hole masses, changing brightness by up to 15% over a year. The study's findings provide new insights into the physics behind quasar variability and could help astronomers decipher underlying mechanisms.
For the first time, astronomers have looked inside quasars and seen evidence of black holes. They measured the size of the accretion disk around a smaller area emitting X-rays, providing further confirmation that quasars are made up of super-massive black holes and heated disks.
A recent survey of galaxies observed along the sightlines to quasars and gamma-ray bursts has revealed a striking inconsistency. Galaxies appear to be four times more common in the direction of gamma-ray bursts than in the direction of quasars, contradicting basic concepts of cosmology.
Researchers have found that the most energetic radiation from a quasar's jet comes from extremely energetic particles, not as previously thought. The particles are accelerated locally and produce their emission through synchrotron radiation.
The MAGIC team discovered variable gamma-ray emission from microquasar LS I +61 303, revealing a direct relationship between the stars' interplay and gamma-ray production. The findings suggest that gamma-ray emission could be a common property of microquasars, contradicting previous expectations.
Astronomers observed quasars with the VLT and HST to detect host galaxies, but found that one quasar, HE0450-2958, has no massive galaxy. Instead, they detected a bright cloud of gas ionized by the quasar's radiation, which may be feeding the black hole.
Astronomers detect unusual quasar with no visible host galaxy, sparking debate about its origin. The object's properties suggest a rare collision between galaxies, potentially illuminating the formation of massive black holes and their role in shaping the universe.
Astronomers have found a large population of obscured quasars, which are thought to be hidden behind dust in galaxies. The discovery sheds light on the growth habits of black holes at the heart of active galaxies.
The UKIDSS survey will scour the sky with the world's most powerful infrared survey camera to study objects too cool for visible light, like failed stars and distant quasars. The surveys aim to solve existing conundrums, such as when galaxies first lit up, and discover new phenomena.
Researchers at Cornell University have found clear bumps in infrared emissions at 10 and 18 microns in five type 1 AGNs, confirming the existence of silicate dust and supporting the unified theory. This evidence may provide insights into the inner temperature of dusty tori and shed light on the structure of active galactic nuclei.
The Millennium Simulation uses sophisticated modeling techniques to recreate evolutionary histories for 20 million galaxies and supermassive black holes. The simulation demonstrates that a few massive black holes can form early enough to account for rare quasars, and provides a new tool for understanding the nature of dark energy.
The Millennium Run simulation recreated evolutionary histories for 20 million galaxies and supermassive black holes, clarifying physical processes underlying galaxy buildup. The study also demonstrated that characteristic patterns imprinted on matter distribution at early epochs are still present in observed galaxy distributions.
Researchers found that growing black holes release energy that regulates galaxy evolution and black hole growth, matching observed relationships between black hole size and galaxy mass. The simulations also show that smaller galaxies have less gas to form stars, while larger galaxies produce more.
The discovery reveals a quasar with an extreme redshift of 2.11 found within the center of an active spiral galaxy called NGC 7319. This finding casts doubt on the idea that quasars are extremely distant objects and could impact our understanding of cosmology.
Researchers used the Gemini telescope to produce sharp infrared images of quasar host galaxies, finding only one convincing detection that was unremarkable in size and brightness. This challenges previous assumptions about the relationship between quasars and their host galaxies.
Astronomers using the Very Large Telescope have secured new data that provide the strongest constraints to date on the possible variation of the fine-structure constant. The study shows no evidence for a time-dependent change in this fundamental constant, contradicting previous claims.
A team of astronomers has discovered 13 distant quasars, providing valuable insights into the early universe. The most ancient quasars are thought to have formed right along with supermassive black holes, suggesting a rapid transition from the cosmic dark ages to the cosmic renaissance.
Astronomers have detected a lensed quasar more than twice as wide as any previously reported, offering insights into dark matter and its distribution. The discovery provides evidence for the presence of massive galaxy clusters, which can be used to study dark matter.
Researchers have found evidence of high-speed winds blowing copious amounts of gas from the cores of quasar galaxies, powered by black holes. The winds may regulate black hole growth and create new stars, with a wind transporting substantial amounts of carbon, oxygen, and iron into the interstellar medium.
A new study suggests that black holes can form before galaxies, with massive black holes found in even the smallest active galaxies. The research, led by Marianne Vestergaard at Ohio State University, uses a method to estimate the mass of distant black holes and finds that they are often more massive than previously thought.
A star orbiting the massive Milky Way centre has been observed approaching the central black hole to within three times the distance between the Sun and Pluto. The new measurements provide conclusive evidence for the existence of a supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy.
The quasar APM 08279+5255 has a three times larger iron fraction than our solar system, contrary to expectations. This suggests an unknown efficient way of producing iron or the universe may be older than expected.
The new ACS instrument will provide two times the observational area, resolution, and sensitivity as existing instruments, allowing astronomers to capture more objects in detail at a faster rate. This will enable research to probe deeper into the universe, potentially revealing direct images of planets in nearby solar systems.
Researchers use theoretical calculation to understand merger process, predicting brief brightness increase and high-speed gas outflow. The study sheds light on quasar activation following super-massive black hole mergers, a phenomenon not yet fully understood.
Astronomers estimate masses of distant black holes using a new method developed by Marianne Vestergaard, allowing for more accurate understanding of quasar behavior. The study challenges previous theories suggesting a threshold mass above which black holes cause quasars to become radio-loud.
Astronomers have observed a web-like structure in space using NASA's FUSE satellite, confirming theoretical models of how matter condensed into galaxies. The helium traces the universe's architecture back to very early times, shedding light on its re-energization by quasars and star birth.
Astronomers have detected the imprint of neutral atoms on light from a distant quasar, providing a glimpse into the early universe. The observation reveals that complex atoms such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and silicon were formed in the first stars and quasars, constraining the timing of the universe's reionization.