A quasar with a voracious black hole at its core has captured the attention of astronomers, potentially standing as the brightest entity in the universe. This remarkable quasar devours material at an extraordinary rate, equivalent to consuming a sun’s worth of mass every day.
Shining 500 trillion times brighter than our sun, this record-breaking quasar is powered by a black hole over 17 billion times more massive than our solar system’s center. Revealed by an Australian-led team and detailed in Nature Astronomy, this cosmic behemoth, named J0529-4351, was initially mistaken for a star when first spotted in a 1980 sky survey by the European Southern Observatory.
Despite appearing as a mere speck in images, this quasar harbors a turbulent environment. The swirling disk of gas and matter surrounding the black hole resembles a cosmic hurricane, drawing in material from surrounding stars and emitting intense light and energy.
Lead author Christian Wolf of Australian National University describes this quasar as “the most violent place that we know in the universe.” This celestial giant, located 12 billion light-years away, has been active since the early stages of the universe, representing a crucial puzzle piece in understanding cosmic evolution.
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Although initially overlooked, further observations and computer simulations have unveiled the true nature of this object. It consumes material equivalent to 370 suns annually, indicating a staggering growth rate. The black hole’s mass is estimated to be between 17 and 19 billion times that of our sun, with ongoing research aiming to shed light on its rapid development.
