What are Quasars? Let’s take a look at the Universe
Since the creation of physics and mathematics, human beings have always sought ways to understand everything unknown to them, especially when it comes to studying the universe and everything that is part of it. With the help of physics and mathematics, we have been able to create branches of science, such as cosmology and astrophysics, which have helped us to understand a little better, the mysteries of the universe.
One of those mysteries of the universe which we have only been able to understand a fraction of its existence, is the Quasar. Throughout history, we have realized that we still have much to study and understand about the Quasars and that many of the assumptions we had about them were wrong.
Quasars: An Introduction
Quasars are known as bodies or celestial objects that are capable of radiating enormous amounts of light. They radiate such massive amounts of light that they can obscure the light coming from the galaxies to which they belong. For this reason, Quasars are considered to be the most luminous bodies in the universe. Its detailed origin is still uncertain, however, it is known that part of its origin is due to the creation of supermassive black holes, which serve as food or fuel for the Quasars to radiate all their gases and sources of light energy.
This statement goes against the past belief about these, which was established in the 1960s when scientists of the time assumed that Quasars were white holes, however, this theory was discarded when it was proven that they had more in common with the same galaxies to which they belong.
Meaning of “Quasar”
The meaning of the word Quasars is “quasi-stellar radio source”, and the term was created by the astrophysicist Hong-Yee Chiu, who in 1964 decided to coin a term to these celestial objects according to their behavior to radiate light and energy. These heavenly bodies emit immense amounts of light through radio waves in which you can also see infrared light emissions, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays. Besides, it has been confirmed that Quasars possess physical properties and chemical elements such as helium, which are conducive to the formation of galaxies.
For this reason, they are considered to have a great similarity to galaxies already sharing a certain number of properties. The study of Quasars has helped the scientific community to understand the creation of the universe and all the elements that are part of it. It is also very important to mention that thanks to these statements, Quasars are considered by some experts in astrophysics and cosmology, as the origin of any galactic evolution.
There is a curious fact about them, which explains that they cannot radiate energy and light in an unlimited way. Because they feed on black holes and the energy that they absorb, if they stop absorbing energy and light, the Quasars will eventually shut down. However, they can be reactivated if the right conditions and circumstances are present, among which it is necessary that the black holes from which they feed, start absorbing large amounts of light and energy again.
Quasars and Black Holes
Until now, it is believed that Quasars can only originate with the help of the creation of supermassive black holes. Recent studies have proven that supermassive black holes can absorb energy and light equivalent to more than a billion stars. Quasars, being the brightest objects in the universe and feeding on black holes, are estimated to be able to radiate energy that exceeds all the light emitted by all the stars in a galaxy. In fact, in another comparison, Quasars can emit energy 10 to 100 thousand times more powerful than all the energy radiated by the Milky Way.
Another important fact that should be mentioned regarding Quasars is that the images we have of them are only luminous representations of millions of years ago. In other words, Quasars are objects that are found at an incredibly distant distance from the Earth, therefore what we perceive from them are acts or processes from the past that have manifested themselves millions of years ago.
This reality has served to establish theories that suggest that some Quasars date from the origin of the universe and the Big Bang, this because the emotions of light of Quasars take millions of years to run the galaxy, and therefore the time of travel may be an important indicator to establish the age of origin of these mysterious luminous objects.
This fact is very important, because until now only a little bit of 100,000 Quasars distributed in all the universe have been discovered, and the closest one is estimated that it is to but of 790 million years light of distance. For many scientists these objects can also be considered as supermassive black holes with a material density so gigantic that it can exceed the mass of more than a billion suns, therefore Quasars automatically become the largest and most powerful energy source in the universe that can radiate light and energy from more than 100 thousand galaxies combined.
This is one of the reasons why it is very important not to confuse Quasars with ordinary stars. Although stars are also celestial bodies with incredibly large masses emitting energy and light, they cannot transmit their energy and light gases like Quasars, which radiate this light and energy through radio and electromagnetic waves at all possible frequencies.
(You can learn much more about Quasars here).
Finally, it is very important to clarify that Quasars are composed of luminous, energetic gases, and dust and rotate at impressive speeds in their center. This last discovery has also served as a basis for considering and theorizing that they are a different type of supermassive black hole.
It is clear, that human beings still have a long way to go to understand all the mysteries of the universe, among which are the Quasars. We have not yet found the answers to our questions about the universe and how galaxies evolve, so it is very important to consider the continued study of Quasars and the possibility that they hold the answers to the origin of the universe we know and of life itself.