The mystery around quasars has finally been solved!

For years astronomers have wondered how quasars, the brightest and most powerful objects in the universe, are ignited. The question seems to have been finally answered. Quasars are celestial objects with very high luminosity. They are found in the centres of some galaxies and according to NASA, can be a trillion times brighter than the sun.

Quasars were first discovered 60 years ago, but have remained a mystery. Astronomers have been trying to understand how such powerful activity could be generated by a celestial object.

The mystery has finally been solved and research suggests that the high luminosity is the result of galaxies merging.

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Scientists, led by the Universities of Sheffield and Hertfordshire, found what they describe as "the presence of distorted structures" in the galaxies that contain quasars.

Data was taken from the Isaac Newton Telescope in La Palma, one of the Canary Islands. Observations of 48 quasars and their host galaxies were compared with images of more than 100 non-quasar galaxies.

The centre of most galaxies is thought to be supermassive black holes. These are many million times denser than the sun. Such galaxies also contain substantial amounts of gas which the black holes can't reach.

Upon collision of these galaxies, the gases are driven towards the black hole where they are then consumed. This action releases "extraordinary amounts of energy in the form of radiation, resulting in the characteristic quasar brilliance", according to researchers.

The astronomers also concluded that galaxies that host quasars are approximately three times as likely to interact or collide with other galaxies.

The latest research can help us understand the future of our own galaxy since the Milky Way is expected to collide withthe Andromeda galaxy in about five billion years.

"It's exciting to observe these events and finally understand why they occur - but thankfully Earth won't be anywhere near one of these apocalyptic episodes for quite some time,"Professor Clive Tadhunter, from the University of Sheffield, was quoted as saying by Sky News.

What is a quasar?

Quasar is the short name used for quasi-stellar radio source. They were first discovered in 1963 when they were perceived as objects that looked like stars but emitted radio waves. It is basically used to refer to luminous supermassive black holes, which in itself might look like a contradiction.

Supermassive black holes in nearby galaxies don't have a lot of gas available to them. Quasars are mostly found in distant galaxies, with the nearest quasar being Markarian 231, which lies about 600 million light-years from Earth.

(With inputs from agencies)

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