Black Hole Spectacle: Quasar 500 Trillion Times Brighter Than Sun Discovered by Australian Researchers
In a surprising discovery, Australian scientists have found the brightest known object in the universe – a quasar shining 500 trillion times brighter than our sun. This celestial object, powered by the fastest growing black hole ever identified, had apparently been "hiding in plain sight," according to researchers.
The quasar's black hole has a mass approximately 17 billion times that of our sun and astonishingly devours the equivalent of one sun every day. The light from this extraordinary object has traveled for over 12 billion years to reach Earth.
The scientists at the Australian National University first detected the quasar using a 2.3-meter telescope at the university's NSW Siding Spring Observatory in Coonabarabran. The discovery was later confirmed using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, which boasts a primary mirror of 8 meters. The collaborative research involving the ANU, ESO, the University of Melbourne, and Sorbonne Université in France has been published in Nature Astronomy.
Lead author and ANU associate professor, Christian Wolf, emphasized that this quasar is the most luminous known object in the universe. He highlighted its incredible rate of growth, leading to a significant "release of light and heat." Wolf expressed doubt that this record-breaking discovery would be surpassed.
The emitted light originates from an "accretion disc" with a diameter of seven light years. This disc is where material is drawn in, spiraling around the black hole before crossing the event horizon. The collision of this material generates vast amounts of light and heat, creating a spectacle resembling a massive, magnetic storm cell with temperatures of 10,000 degrees Celsius. The storm cell spans seven light years, 50% more than the distance from our solar system to the next star in the galaxy, Alpha Centauri.
Christian Wolf, the main guy, had two main feelings about the discovery. One was that jaw-dropping moment of thinking about the craziness happening out there – like a space inferno. The other? Pure joy at finding it. Nature doesn't make it easy, but they nailed it and went, "Ah, there you are!"
Oh, and by the way, they fixed a mistake about the size of the telescope mirror – it's 8 meters, not the ginormous 39 meters they first said. Easy mistake, right?
More about this article on Australian National University
And The researchers’ findings are published in Nature Astronomy.
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