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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Q is for Quasars


Q is for Quasar by Stephen Tremp


Many astronomers believe that quasars are the most distant objects yet detected in the universe. Quasars give off enormous amounts of energy - they can be a trillion times brighter than the Sun! Quasars are believed to produce their energy from massive black holes in the center of the galaxies in which the quasars are located. Because quasars are so bright, they drown out the light from all the other stars in the same galaxy.

Despite their brightness, due to their great distance from Earth, no quasars can be seen with an unaided eye. Energy from quasars takes billions of years to reach the Earth's atmosphere. For this reason, the study of quasars can provide astronomers with information about the early stages of the universe.

The word quasar is short for "quasi-stellar radio source". This name, which means star-like emitters of radio waves, was given in the 1960s when quasars were first detected. The name is retained today, even though astronomers now know most quasars are faint radio emitters. In addition to radio waves and visible light, quasars also emit ultraviolet rays, infrared waves, X-rays, and gamma-rays. Most quasars are larger than our solar system.

You can visit Stephen Tremp at his Web site
Breakthrough Blogs.

Reference:
NASA

37 comments:

Francene Stanley said...

Fascinating stuff. The best part about the beginnings of the universe is taht I've ben told we are made of stardust. Wow! That's awesome.

http://francene-wordstitcher.blogspot.com

Empty Nest Insider said...

I never knew the meaning behind quasars before, and how powerful they are. Didn't they used to have Quasar brand TV's? Interesting post and thanks for doing a great job co-hosting A to Z! Julie

Gail M Baugniet - Author said...

It is impossible for me to wrap my head around the fact that it takes billions of years for the energy from quasars to reach the Earth's atmosphere. (I'll take your word for it, though!)
http://gail-baugniet.blogspot.com Theme: A World of Crime

Elise Fallson said...

Makes me feel smaller and even more insignificant. (;
Seriously, fascinating post. I love Astronomy stuff.

A Daft Scots Lass said...

Interesting.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Most interedting.

Yvonne.

Angela said...

Never thought quasars were so brilliant. Thanks for sharing.

Huntress said...

I wrote an essay on quasars for my finals. The name itself is pretty darn cool.

AJ Blythe said...

Love the word 'quasar'. Heard the word before but didn't know what it was. Fascinating :)

Arthur Brill said...

Cool Q post! I've seen Quarks and Quantums and now Quasars. A lot of people are taking the science approach today.

My own Q is "Quoth the Raven, Nevermore!"

It is a post about Edgar Allen Poe history in Richmond, VA

http://mainstreetarts.blogspot.com/2012/04/quoth-raven-nevermore.html

Pa Ul said...

love it :)

The Poet said...

Hello.
Who knew? Fascinating information. Thanks for sharing.

Quicksand

Anonymous said...

Beyond our atmosphere there is so much going on. The universe is shifting rolling growling ..and..emitting radio waves. Who knew?

Tina said...

Great Q word, Stephen. I've always wondered, but never bothered to look it up. I'm an avid star gazer (one of my favorite parts of camping). Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Tina @ Life is Good
Co-Host of the April A to Z Challenge
Twitter: @AprilA2Z #atozchallenge

Beth Lapin said...

Who would have known? Thanks.

Beth
http://bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com/

Lynn Proctor said...

wow--i remember learning about them--but didn't realize how large they are--fascinating stuff

Unknown said...

Wow, I feel so small now.

Anonymous said...

Great information about the Quasar

Thanks for the month of A to Z we appreciate all of you who are hosting

ladys knight

Unknown said...

Pondering the limitlessness of space overwhelms my brain. Scientists know so much about what's out there, and at the same time they know nothing at all.

Anonymous said...

Wow! I wake up to all these really cool comments. Thanks everyone for stopping by!

Jaye Robin Brown said...

Quasar is a great Q word.

Nicole said...

Quasars, huh? The radio waves and X-ray transmission, etc. is interesting to learn but their size, being larger than our solar system is what really blows my mind.

~Nicole
Blog: The Madlab Post
*Rockin' the A to Z Challenge!*
@MadlabPost on Twitter

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Steve .. fascinating - I hadn't known they are the furthest thing from earth .. though I think I realised that their energy once researched by scientists might tell us more of our own beginnings ..

Excellent information .. cheers Hilary

Tracy said...

How neat is that! I enjoy Stephen and so it's fun to read up on information....Q words were certainly limitied but it's all been fun!

Laura S. said...

Fascinating post, Stephen! I love learning about space. :)

Anonymous said...

I think Q is an amazing letter. Quantum is another word that has endless possibilities. I'm glad so many people find things like quasars interesting. Our universe is filled with so many awe-inspiring wonders!

Haddock said...

I learned something today.

Cheryl Klarich said...

I'm feeling very ant-like about now...
Thanks for the info!

Elizabeth Mueller said...

I've always science, especially astronomy. Thanks for this fantastic post!


Elizabeth
A to Z co-host

Unknown said...

I can add this most interesting lesson on quasars to the many other things I've learned during A_Z, Thanks Stephen!

Dino said...

I thought quasars were something out of Star Trek, or maybe that was Phasers? I don't know.

http://dpfinnie.com

Anonymous said...

I encourage anyone and everyone to visit NASA's Website. There is so much information there. You can spend an hour navigating through the site and walk away a much smarter person.

Erin M. Hartshorn said...

Great Q word! And I visit the NASA site often and encouraged my son to use it for one of his school projects this year.

Erin

Andrew Leon said...

When I was a kid, I was really into astronomy. Quasars were one of my favorite things. Probably by the time I was 12-14, I'd decided that quasars were exit ports for black holes. That wasn't actually a theory at the time, though. I was gratified about a decade later when that became an actual hypothesis.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Glad I hopped over here to read some more science stuff to fill my brain with.

Sonia Lal said...

fascinating post!


Sonia Lal, A to Z challenge

Pat Tillett said...

That's a good one for Q, and it fits here. Every little fact or assumption about our universe, is amazing to me.