Scientists shine a light on creation of quasars

An ‘apocalyptic’ collision that gives birth to one of the most powerful objects in the universe may be the future of our galaxy.

The spectacular Einstein ring, which contains several separate images of the same quasar. The quasar is well beyond the foreground pair of galaxies. Picture: NASA /ESA / Hubble / T. Treu / J. Schmidt

An “apocalyptic” collision that gives birth to one of the most powerful objects in the universe may be the future of our galaxy.

Scientists have been researching quasars – quasi-stellar radio sources – which can shine as brightly as a trillion stars but are relatively tiny: only about as big as our solar system.

Since the discovery of quasars 60 years ago, physicists have wondered what kind of activity could lead to the creation of ­objects with such vast energy. The new study, led by scientists at the universities of Hertfordshire and Sheffield, argues that the answer lies in galaxies crashing together.

They suggest our own galactic home, the Milky Way, is a good candidate for a quasar – we are ­careering towards the Andromeda galaxy, with a collision expected in about five billion years.

Professor Clive Tadhunter, of the University of Sheffield, said: “Quasars are one of the most ­extreme phenomena in the universe and what we see is likely to represent the future of the Milky Way. It’s exciting to finally understand why quasars occur.”

Prof Tadhunter and his colleagues looked at how galaxies that are home to quasars compare with those that are not. They found that the outer regions of the former are distorted structures in a manner that is best ­explained by a crash of galaxies.

The new study is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

The Times