Scientists Identify Possibly Brightest Object in the Universe
2024-02-26
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1Astronomers say they may have discovered the brightest object ever observed in the universe.
2The discovery involves a distant space object known as a quasar.
3The American space agency NASA describes quasars as "very bright, distant and active supermassive black holes that are millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun."
4A quasar's light "outshines" all other stars and "its jets and winds shape" its galaxy, NASA adds.
5A team led by Australian researchers identified the super bright quasar.
6The European Southern Observatory's (ESO's) Very Large Telescope, based in northern Chile, collected most of the data.
7Additional data came from Australia's Siding Spring Observatory.
8The researchers estimate the record-breaking quasar is at least 500 trillion times brighter than our own sun.
9The team also noted the black hole powering the object is more than 17 billion times larger than our sun.
10The quasar is about 12 billion light years away from Earth.
11It is thought to have existed since the early days of the universe.
12A light year is the distance light travels in a year - about 9.5 trillion kilometers.
13The object was already known and had been studied before.
14But scientists say it was misidentified in the past as a star.
15The newly identified quasar is so large that its black hole could easily swallow at least one sun per day, the team said.
16The researchers recently reported their finding in a study in the publication Nature Astronomy.
17The quasar appears only as a small dot in images.
18But scientists say they imagine it to be a very powerful and active place.
19The team says the black hole is thought to have a circulating disk containing gas and other matter from swallowed stars.
20The disk spins continuously like an intense, active storm.
21"This quasar is the most violent place that we know in the universe," said the lead writer of the study, Christian Wolf.
22He is an astronomer and professor in the College of Science at Australian National University.
23The ESO first found the object, known as J0529-4351, in 1980.
24At the time, it was identified, or classified, as a star.
25Then last year, it was identified as a quasar.
26The latest observations and computer modeling suggest the quasar is taking in amounts of material equal to about 370 suns a year, or about one per day.
27The team says more observations will be needed to fully understand the object's growth rate.
28Priyamvada Natarajan is a professor of astronomy and physics at Yale University.
29She was not part of the latest study.
30But Natarajan told the Associated Press, "The exciting thing about this quasar is that it was hiding in plain sight and was misclassified as a star previously."
31Study co-writer Christopher Onken added, "It is a surprise that it has remained unknown until today, when we already know about a million less impressive quasars."
32The researchers say finding and studying distant supermassive black holes could help astronomers learn important details about the birth and development of the early universe.
33But study leader Wolf noted that he also gets enjoyment out of the search itself.
34"Personally, I simply like the chase," he said in a statement.
35"For a few minutes a day, I get to feel like a child again, playing treasure hunt. And now, I bring everything to the table that I have learned since."
36Future research is expected to center on the history of the quasar and measuring its growth and development.
37The team noted that some of this data should be easier to collect after the Very Large Telescope receives an instrument upgrade.
38The upgrade, known as Gravity+, is designed to provide more exact measurements of the mass of distant black holes.
39In addition, the ESO plans to launch a future observer, called the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), in Chile's Atacama Desert.
40That telescope, the researchers say, will improve on current identification and study methods to identify such distant objects.
41I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Astronomers say they may have discovered the brightest object ever observed in the universe. 2The discovery involves a distant space object known as a quasar. The American space agency NASA describes quasars as "very bright, distant and active supermassive black holes that are millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun." 3A quasar's light "outshines" all other stars and "its jets and winds shape" its galaxy, NASA adds. 4A team led by Australian researchers identified the super bright quasar. The European Southern Observatory's (ESO's) Very Large Telescope, based in northern Chile, collected most of the data. Additional data came from Australia's Siding Spring Observatory. 5The researchers estimate the record-breaking quasar is at least 500 trillion times brighter than our own sun. The team also noted the black hole powering the object is more than 17 billion times larger than our sun. 6The quasar is about 12 billion light years away from Earth. It is thought to have existed since the early days of the universe. A light year is the distance light travels in a year - about 9.5 trillion kilometers. 7The object was already known and had been studied before. But scientists say it was misidentified in the past as a star. The newly identified quasar is so large that its black hole could easily swallow at least one sun per day, the team said. 8The researchers recently reported their finding in a study in the publication Nature Astronomy. 9The quasar appears only as a small dot in images. But scientists say they imagine it to be a very powerful and active place. The team says the black hole is thought to have a circulating disk containing gas and other matter from swallowed stars. The disk spins continuously like an intense, active storm. 10"This quasar is the most violent place that we know in the universe," said the lead writer of the study, Christian Wolf. He is an astronomer and professor in the College of Science at Australian National University. 11The ESO first found the object, known as J0529-4351, in 1980. At the time, it was identified, or classified, as a star. Then last year, it was identified as a quasar. 12The latest observations and computer modeling suggest the quasar is taking in amounts of material equal to about 370 suns a year, or about one per day. The team says more observations will be needed to fully understand the object's growth rate. 13Priyamvada Natarajan is a professor of astronomy and physics at Yale University. She was not part of the latest study. But Natarajan told the Associated Press, "The exciting thing about this quasar is that it was hiding in plain sight and was misclassified as a star previously." 14Study co-writer Christopher Onken added, "It is a surprise that it has remained unknown until today, when we already know about a million less impressive quasars." 15The researchers say finding and studying distant supermassive black holes could help astronomers learn important details about the birth and development of the early universe. But study leader Wolf noted that he also gets enjoyment out of the search itself. 16"Personally, I simply like the chase," he said in a statement. "For a few minutes a day, I get to feel like a child again, playing treasure hunt. And now, I bring everything to the table that I have learned since." 17Future research is expected to center on the history of the quasar and measuring its growth and development. The team noted that some of this data should be easier to collect after the Very Large Telescope receives an instrument upgrade. The upgrade, known as Gravity+, is designed to provide more exact measurements of the mass of distant black holes. 18In addition, the ESO plans to launch a future observer, called the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), in Chile's Atacama Desert. That telescope, the researchers say, will improve on current identification and study methods to identify such distant objects. 19I'm Bryan Lynn. 20Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press and the European Southern Observatory. 21___________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23disk - n. a flat, round object 24impressive - adj. something considered noteworthy or causing admiration or respect 25upgrade - n. to improve something that is higher quality of a newer model