Artist’s impression of quasar J0313-1806, which is very light in the first globe. Like all quasars, it is thought to be powered by a supermassive black hole. Image via NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. da Silva / Keck Theater. View an annotated version of this image.
Keck Observatory and NSIR’s NOIRLab announced on January 12, 2021, that astronomers have discovered something that sets a new record for being the farthest quasar and therefore the farthest supermassive black hole. They said they are seeing the quasar – named J0313-1806 – just 670 million years after the Big Bang, or more than 13 billion light-years away. It is estimated to be about 1,000 times lighter than our Milky Way galaxy, which is why we still see it over such a long distance. This object is thought to be powered by what is now the earliest known supermassive black hole in our universe, with an incoming pressure of over 1.6 billion times greater than the sun . Astronomers released this result this week at the January 2021 landmark meeting of the Astronomical Society of America.
A paper outlining the new work for publication was approved in the peer review Astrophysical Journal Letters and is available in introductory form on arXiv.org.
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The astronauts did not just check the speed of the quasar; they also found a high-speed wind apparently blowing from the black hole in the center at a supermassive at about 20% light speed.
When astronauts first started seeing quasars, in the 1950s, they gave them a name that means semi-stellar radio source (star-like). In other words, radio telescopes first saw them, and the first optical telescopes saw them as a point, like stars. But by the 1960s and ’70s, spectacle quasars had appeared to be a long way off. And astronomers were wondering how such objects could emit so much radiation and still be visible from places so far away.
That’s when the idea of quasars began to be powered by horrible black holes taking hold. Now, as explained by the Keck Observatory, quotas are seen:
… Frenzies feeding horrible black hole holes … the most vibrant things in the universe. They occur when gas in the superheated collection disk around a supermassive black hole is inexorably drawn in, radiating light across the electromagnetic spectrum.
The energy emitted by quasars is enormous, with the most terrifying examples emanating from entire galaxies.
Quotas are usually so far away that astronomers do not talk about their distances in light years. Distance in light years cannot be measured, nor measured directly. What can be measured is the refraction of the object, which is related to distance. Quasar JO313-1806 has a position regression of z = 7.64.
Astronomers who made this new measurement said that the presence of such a large black hole so early in the history of the universe challenged theories about the formation of black holes. Feige Wang, NASA Hubble member at the University of Arizona and lead author of the research paper, explained:
Black holes formed by the first giant stars could not have grown this size in a few hundred million years.
In addition to measuring the monster’s black hole, the Keck and Gemini North Observatory found a very fast-flowing outflow coming out of the quasar in the form of a high-speed wind traveling at 20 % Of the speed of light. University of Arizona astronomer Jinyi Yang – co-author of the new paper – said:
The energy released by high-velocity outflow is so large enough to influence star formation in the entire quasar host galaxy.
The astronauts said that this was:
… The earliest example of a quasar sculpting the growth of its host galaxy, making J0313-1806 a promising target for future ideas.
The galaxy that hosts J0313-1806’s is going through a spurt of star formation, releasing new stars 200 times faster than the Milky Way. The combination of this star-shaped shape, the luminous quasar, and the high-speed flux make J0313-1806 and its host galaxy a promising natural laboratory for understanding supermassive black hole growth and their host galleries early in the universe.
Wang said:
This would be a great target for studying the formation of the earliest horrible black holes. We also hope to learn more about the impact of quasar currents on their host galaxy, as well as learn how the largest galaxies were created early in the universe.
Astronomers Feige Wang and Jinyi Yang, both of the Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona, helped measure the distance for quasar J0313-1806, the standard record holder for the farthest quasar that is known in our universe. Image through Feige Wang. Used by permission.
Bottom line: Astronauts have a new measurement for quasar speed J0313-1806, making it the new record keeper for the farthest quasar. We see it just 670 million years after the Big Bang, or more than 13 billion light years away. The astronauts also found high-speed winds apparently emanating from the middle black hole of this quasar at about 20% light speed.
Source: Quasar Luminous at Redshift 7.642
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