Blazar vs quasar
They’re many times more massive than our Sun and are situated millions of light-years away from Earth.This image from Hubble’s Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) is likely the best of ancient and brilliant quasar 3C 273, which resides in a giant elliptical galaxy in the constellation of Virgo (The Virgin). Quasars are formed when a supermassive black hole forms an accretion disk inside an active galaxy. Quasars are quite different from pulsars in terms of size, mass, and energy. Research also suggests that the galaxy/quasar may be powered by two massive black holes instead of one. It belongs to a large, active group of galaxies and is in the Ursa Major constellation.
It is believed to be between 500 and 600 million light-years away from Earth. The nearest quasar to our galaxy that has been identified to date is Markarian 231. Galaxies that are old or don’t have enough matter are not likely to become quasars. Some theories also suggest that quasars can only be formed in young, active galaxies that have a supermassive black hole and enough matter around them to power the quasar. This accretion disk generates the energy needed to power the black hole. The flow of energy also gives out light, which we can observe from Earth. Quasars are thought to be formed when a supermassive black hole has enough matter in its surroundings to form an accretion disk.Īn accretion disk is the flow of matter in a spiral direction around the black hole. Much later, quasars were observed in more detail with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope and were found to be situated in the centers of galaxies. Subsequent research and experiments conducted in the 1970s confirmed the existence of quasars, their properties, and their structure. They were first discovered as sources of radio waves from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. Yes, quasars are real, massive galaxies in space. In other words, they stopped being quasars. Since so many of them have been discovered, quasars may not be classified as rare.īut scientists have discovered that quasars were more common billions of years ago, in the early days of the universe.Ī possible explanation for this is that in the past, galaxies/black holes had more matter to feed on.īut as the matter reduced over time, the galaxies stopped feeding and became inactive. To date, around a million quasars have been discovered. So, yes, quasars may seem dangerous but the threat they pose is only limited to celestial bodies situated near them. They’re much more massive than our Sun and release a lot of energy.īut they are so many light-years away from Earth that they can’t directly affect our planet in any manner. Quasars do feed on nearby planets and stars, obliterating them. Are quasars dangerous?Ī quasar is a giant galaxy that feeds on matter so having one nearby won’t be good. Their size is comparable to that of the Sun instead of the size of a galaxy. Stars, on the other hand, are more compact and dense. Quasars are simply too big to be categorized as stars.Īs discussed earlier, quasars are essentially galaxies or supermassive black holes and can be millions of times more massive than the Sun.
When viewed through a telescope, a quasar may seem like any other star in space, but it’s actually quite different from a star. Such black holes are usually located at the center of very large galaxies. The black hole must also be an active one, that “feeds” on the matter.Īctive black holes consume planets, stars, and other celestial bodies and continue to grow in size. To classify as a quasar, the black hole must be supermassive - millions of times more massive than our Sun.
Their force of gravity is thought to be so strong that even light can’t escape it.Ī quasar may be thought of as a gigantic black hole. Are quasars black holes?īlack holes are massive, dense objects in space. On the other hand, quasars are usually located millions of light-years away from Earth. In terms of distance from Earth, pulsars are relatively closer, being hundreds of light-years away. Quasars are also brighter than pulsars, emit more energy, and don’t rotate as pulsars do. Quasars are, essentially whole galaxies and are quite big compared to pulsars.
Quasars and pulsars have quite a few similarities between them, as well as some differences.īoth objects emit great amounts of electromagnetic radiation and the light from them can be seen on Earth. Then we’ll answer some common questions about quasars. Below, this article dives into quasars and pulsars, and how they differ.