[ad_1]
This artist’s impression shows the record-breaking quasar J059-4351.
A team of Australian astronomers has identified an unusual celestial phenomenon. The brightest object ever discovered in the universe. This giant quasar is powered by a massive black hole and outstrips the sun by an astonishing 500 trillion times.
The black hole at the center of this quasar is no ordinary thing. It has 17 billion times the mass of the Sun and consumes the same amount of material every day as the Sun. This voracious consumption has enhanced the quasar’s incredible brightness, making it visible even though its light travels an astonishing 12 billion years to reach us.
The researchers’ findings were published in the journal natural astronomy.
The discovery initially began with a modest 2.3-meter telescope in Australia, but to verify the discovery, researchers turned to the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, which has an 8-meter mirror, for confirmation. . This collaboration between the Australian National University, the European Southern Observatory, the University of Melbourne and the Sorbonne University resulted in a ground-breaking paper published in the acclaimed journal Nature Astronomy.
Lead author ANU Associate Professor Christian Wolff said this was a record that was unlikely to be broken.
“The incredible growth rate also means the release of large amounts of light and heat,” said Wolff. “So it’s also the brightest known object in the universe. It’s 500 trillion times brighter than the Sun.”
Co-author Dr Christopher Onken said: “Given what we know about many other less impressive black holes, it is surprising that they have not been detected until now. “I was hiding in there,” he added.
“The light from this black hole has taken more than 12 billion years to reach us,” said Professor Rachel Webster from the University of Melbourne.
“In the adolescent universe, matter moved chaotically and fed hungry black holes. Now, stars move in an orderly manner at safe distances and rarely crash into black holes.”
The powerful radiation comes from the accretion disk around the black hole, and this is the holding pattern for all matter waiting to be swallowed.
“It looks like a giant geomagnetic storm cell, with temperatures of 10,000 degrees Celsius, lightning everywhere, and winds blowing so fast that it would circle the Earth in an instant,” Associate Professor Wolf said. Ta.
“This storm cell has a diameter of 7 light-years, which is 50 percent longer than the distance from our solar system to the next star in our galaxy, Alpha Centauri.
“We were able to make these discoveries thanks to a 10-year partnership between the Australian Government and the European Southern Observatory (ESO).”
The research was carried out in collaboration with ESO, the University of Melbourne and Sorbonne University in France.
[ad_2]
Source link
