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Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Brief post on "quasi-stellar radio source" (Quasar)

After viewing a composition presented at Nuit Blanche Toronto by one of my old professors I had to do some research on his project...actual research. The project was showcased in a parking garage in Nathan Phillips Square. It was entitled: Quasar 2.0: Star Incubator (Q2:SI).


(Q2:SI) at Nuit Blanche Toronto.
After Googling the term to see if anything interesting came up, I found that a Quasar is actually a phenomenon in space studied by astronomers and astrophysicists. I briefly researched them and had to stop before my mind exploded by the sheer magnitude of this oddity.

So to give you just a little back story on what Quasars are and what they do I present:

Fun facts about Quasars:


  • A quasi-stellar radio source or Quasar is a high concentration of electromagnetic energy in space.
  • Forms in young galaxies.
  • Is the result of the expansion of the universe.
  • Is a compact region in the center of a massive galaxy that surrounds a central “supermassive black hole".
    • i.e. Supermassice black holes sit at the center of quasars feeding them energy from a "host galaxy".
  • Emits 1000x more energy than that of our own Milky Way galaxy.
  • Is a "galactic nucleus".
    • Centrifuge for possible galaxy creation. 
  • Are comparatively small compared to our own galaxy.
  • Are as far as 28 billion light years away. 
ULAS J1120+0641 Quasar. It shown as the smal red dot in the center of the picture.
It is the farthest know Quasar residing at 28.81 billion light years away from Earth.
An artist's rendering of ULAS J1120 Quasar.





Hubble Space Telescope image of Quasar 3C 273.
X-ray image of 3C 273 with its "jet" fuelled by a
supermassive black hole.

An artist's rendering of Quasar 3C 279.





Image of Quasar 3C 175. Shown as the small dot in the center
we can see its jet emitting particles via a supermassive
black hole. 

An artist's rendering of Quasar 3C 120.

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