Australian scientists have discovered the brightest object ever in the universe. It is a “quasar”, a “quastellar radio source”, or simply: a very massive star. It is powered by the fastest growing black hole ever discovered. With a mass of about 17 billion times the mass of our solar system’s sun, a quasar devours the equivalent of a sun every day. The light from the celestial body has traveled more than 12 billion years to reach Earth.
Scientists from the Australian National University (ANU) viewed the quasar for the first time using a 2.3 meter telescope at the NSW Siding Spring Observatory in Coonabarabran. They then confirmed the discovery using the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope, which has a 39-meter primary mirror. Their findings have been published in Nature astronomy.
According to lead author Christian Wolff of the Australian National University, it is the brightest known object in the universe. The amazing growth rate brings with it “an enormous amount of light and heat.” The light is emitted through an “accretion disk” seven light-years in diameter. Matter is pulled into this disk and orbits the black hole before passing through the event horizon. When this trapped material collides with other materials, it produces huge amounts of light and heat.
“It’s like a giant magnetic storm cell at 10,000 degrees Celsius, lightning is everywhere, and the winds are blowing so fast that they would orbit the Earth in a second,” Wolf says. “This storm cell is seven light-years across, which is 50 percent greater than the distance from our solar system to the next star in the galaxy, Alpha Centauri.”
Professor Christopher Onken, co-author of the study, said it was surprising that the storm went unnoticed so long as it hid “in plain sight”.
He says this discovery gives Wolfe mixed feelings Watchman. “On the one hand, it is a slightly shocking and astonishing moment when you imagine this hellish place and those conditions, when you realize that nature is producing something even more extreme than we previously thought. And on the other hand, we are very happy: we have found it! Nature does not make it easy for us ”
