A quasar is an extremely bright and distant point-like source visible to radio telescopes. The source is a so-called Active Galactic Nucleus, fueled by a supermassive black hole. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-what-is-a-quasar…
Tag: active galactic nucleus
Microlensing measurement of a quasar’s accretion disk
An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a supermassive black hole residing at the core of a galaxy that is accreting material. The accretion occurs in the vicinity of the hot torus around the nucleus, and it can generate rapidly moving jets of charged particles that emit bright, variable radiation as material ccelertes as it falls inward. Quasars are perhaps the best-known…
Why clouds form near black holes
Clouds in the greater universe are clumpy areas of greater density than their surroundings. Space telescopes have observed these cosmic clouds in the vicinity of supermassive black holes. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/cosmic-clouds-form-near-black-holes…