A quasar is very energetic and very distant galaxy with an active galactic nucleus, and are the most luminous objects in the universe.
Because, in space, distance equals age, they are also the youngest objects.
Quasar stands for “quasi-stellar radio source”.
Discovered in 1960, quasars seem to be very small, about the size of our solar system, and very luminous, some are brighter than 100 galaxies put together.
Quasars can travel at an incredible speed, over 160,000 miles per second.
Many astronomers believe that for quasars to be so small, and yet so bright and powerful, they are probably very early, very active galaxies powered by supermassive black hole at their centers.
A black hole can have the mass and energy of a billion suns in the diameter of only 5 light-hours, so the presence of a black hole at a quasar’s center would explain its speed and power.
Quasars’ young age and great activity have led some scientists to think that they are somehow related to the birth of galaxies, but we do not have enough information to know if this is true.
