What is a quasar?

A quasar is a celestial object that emits exceptionally large amounts of energy and light. The name 'quasar' is short for 'quasi-stellar radio source', because these objects were initially discovered as a type of radio source.

Quasars are some of the brightest and most distant objects in the universe, and they are believed to be powered by supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies. As matter falls into the black hole, it heats up and emits tremendous amounts of radiation, including visible light, X-rays, and gamma rays.

Quasars were first discovered in the 1960s, and they have been studied extensively since then. They are useful tools for astronomers because they can provide information about the early universe and the formation and evolution of galaxies. They are also important for understanding the properties of black holes and the physics of extreme environments.

Although quasars are some of the brightest objects in the universe, they are also incredibly distant, with some being billions of light-years away from Earth. They are typically observed using large telescopes and other advanced astronomical instruments.