Quasi-Stellar Objects

E900473

Quasi-Stellar Objects, commonly known as quasars, are extremely luminous and distant active galactic nuclei powered by supermassive black holes accreting matter at the centers of young galaxies.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Quasi-Stellar Object 0

Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf active galactic nucleus
astronomical object
extragalactic object
affects evolution of host galaxy
intergalactic medium through ionization
alsoKnownAs QSO NERFINISHED
quasar
classification X-ray selected quasar
optically selected quasar
radio-loud quasar
radio-quiet quasar
cosmologicalUse probe of the early universe
standardizable candle for cosmology (with caveats)
tracer of large-scale structure
discoveredBy Maarten Schmidt NERFINISHED
drives powerful relativistic jets (in many cases)
strong outflows and winds
emits X-rays
electromagnetic radiation across the spectrum
gamma rays
optical light
radio waves
ultraviolet radiation
environment center of an active galaxy
firstSpectroscopicIdentificationYear 1963 GENERATED
hasProperty compact appearance
extremely luminous
high redshift
strong emission lines
variability in brightness
very distant
locatedIn center of a galaxy
luminosityRange up to 1000 times the luminosity of a large galaxy
observedWith X-ray observatories
optical telescopes
radio telescopes
originallyClassifiedAs radio source with star-like optical counterpart GENERATED
poweredBy accretion of matter onto a supermassive black hole
supermassive black hole
redshiftRange up to about 7.5 and higher
spectralFeature broad emission lines
continuum dominated by accretion disk emission
narrow emission lines
timeVariability variability on timescales from days to years
typicalBlackHoleMass billions of solar masses GENERATED
millions of solar masses GENERATED
typicalHost young galaxy
usedToStudy cosmic reionization
growth of supermassive black holes
intervening absorption systems

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Geoffrey Burbidge publication Quasi-Stellar Objects