Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: CNN
Context: Astronomers have discovered the brightest object in the universe, a quasar powered by the fastest-growing black hole on record.
- Initially mistaken for a star, the quasar, named J0529-4351, was found using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope.
- It is located over 12 billion light-years away and its black hole devours the equivalent of one sun per day, with a mass 17 billion times that of our sun.
Difference between Blazars and Quasars:
| Characteristic | Blazars | Quasars |
| Orientation | Jet observed almost end-on | Jet observed at larger angles |
| Spectral Features | Faster-than-light movements | Broad optical lines, thermal spectra |
| Smooth energy distributions | X-ray emission features | |
| Luminosity varies on short timescales | Luminosity varies over longer periods | |
| Relativistic jet pointing towards Earth | Angled view of the accretion disk |
A quasar is a bright core of a distant galaxy that is powered by a supermassive black hole. Quasars are a subclass of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), which are extremely luminous galactic cores where gas and dust fall into a supermassive black hole. Quasars are also known as quasi-stellar objects, abbreviated QSO.
