Quasars – Astronomy Now

Astronomers catch a rare glimpse of two quasars in the process of colliding

6 April 2023 Astronomy Now

Using space- and ground-based telescopes, astronomers get a rare look at two quasars in the process of merging just 3 billion years after the Big Bang.

Astronomers spot merging galaxies hosting dual quasars

7 April 2021 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have spotted two pairs of quasars in the cores of merging galaxies just a few billion years after the birth of the cosmos, shedding light on galactic evolution.

SOFIA opens a surprising window on quasars and galactic evolution

30 November 2020 Astronomy Now

Researchers using the airborne SOFIA infrared observatory have found a quasar where star formation has managed to continue despite a torrent of radiation.

Astronomers find dual quasars are exceedingly rare

1 September 2020 Astronomy Now

While galaxy collisions and mergers are not rare, merging supermassive black holes at the hearts of active galaxies are far less common.

Supermassive black holes feast on vast reservoirs of hydrogen

30 December 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have found a likely source of “food” – vast reservoirs of hydrogen – fueling the growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe

Astronomers make the largest map of the Universe yet

22 May 2017 Astronomy Now

Astronomers with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey have created the first map of the large-scale structure of the Universe based entirely on the positions of quasars. Quasars are the incredibly bright and distant points of light powered by supermassive black holes.

Ripples in cosmic web measured using rare double quasars

28 April 2017 Astronomy Now

Astronomers believe that matter in intergalactic space is distributed in a vast network of interconnected filamentary structures known as the cosmic web. Nearly all the atoms in the universe reside in this web, vestigial material left over from the Big Bang.

Hubble dates black hole’s last big meal

9 March 2017 Stephen Clark

For the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, it’s been a long time between dinners. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has found that the black hole ate its last big meal about 6 million years ago, when it consumed a large clump of infalling gas.

Cosmic lenses support finding on faster than expected expansion of the Universe

30 January 2017 Stephen Clark

By using galaxies as giant gravitational lenses, an international group of astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have made an independent measurement of how fast the Universe is expanding. The newly measured expansion rate for the local Universe is consistent with earlier findings. These are, however, in intriguing disagreement with measurements of the early Universe.

Unexpected gaseous haloes detected around distant quasars

26 October 2016 Astronomy Now

An international team of astronomers has discovered glowing gas clouds surrounding distant quasars. The new survey of these active galaxies indicates that haloes around quasars are far more common than expected. The properties of the haloes in this surprising find are also in striking disagreement with currently accepted theories of galaxy formation in the early universe.