NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is providing even more insightful images of the universe. It discovered two quasars that appear quite close together, from a pair of merging galaxies — and then discovered a second set, according to findings published in the journal Nature Astronomy last week.
A quasar is a bright flash of light emanating from the center of a galaxy, according to NASA. It can be so bright that it outshines the galaxy itself and, according to the space agency, is powered by a “supermassive black hole releasing a torrent of radiation.”.
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A double quasar situation is rare, explained lead researcher Yue Shen of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “We estimate that in the distant universe, for every 1,000 quasars, there is one double quasar. Finding two pairs is even rarer.”
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The researchers say that in both cases, the quasars are less than 10,000 light-years apart. Eventually, the galaxies will merge, forming an even larger black hole. Observations of this process will help scientists better understand galaxy formation and the role quasars play in it.
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So far, researchers have found about 100 double quasars in merging galaxies.
Information source: cnet.com
