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Chapter 25: Problem 20

How could a supermassive black hole, from which nothingnot even light-can escape, be responsible for the extraordinary luminosity of a quasar?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The superb brightness of a quasar comes from the disc of matter that surrounds a supermassive black hole at the center of the quasar's galaxy. As matter from this disc falls into the black hole, it heats up and glows extremely brightly, resulting in the extraordinary luminosity of a quasar.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding a Supermassive Black Hole

A supermassive black hole is a type of black hole with a mass of the order of millions or billions times the mass of the Sun. They are the largest type of black holes. Nothing can escape from them due to their extremely strong gravitational force, not even light.
02

Understanding a Quasar

A quasar (or quasi-stellar object) is a very energetic distant galaxy nucleus, capable of emitting thousand times more light than an entire galaxy. This light is so intense that it makes the quasar one of the most luminous objects in the universe.
03

Explaining the Connection

The extraordinary luminosity of a quasar is believed to be the result of accretion of matter by the supermassive black hole located at the center of the host galaxy. The matter, often in the form of a gas, forms an 'accretion disk' around the black hole. As it spirals into the black hole, the matter accelerates and heats up, causing it to glow brilliantly. Though the black hole itself does not emit light, the accretion disk surrounding it emits intense light, which gives quasars their extraordinary luminosity.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Explain how the rotation curve of a galactic nucleus can help determine whether a supermassive black hole is present.

How does the spectrum of a quasar differ from that of an ordinary galaxy? How do spectral lines help astronomers determine the distances to quasars?

Suppose that an astronomer discovers a quasar with a redshift of \(8.0\). With what speed would this quasar seem to be receding from us? Give your answer in \(\mathrm{km} / \mathrm{s}\) and as a fraction of the speed of light.

How would you distinguish between thermal and nonthermal radiation?

The Lockman bole is a region in the constellation Ursa Minor where the Milky Way's interstellar hydrogen is the thinnest. By observing in this part of the sky, astronomers get the clearest possible view of distant galaxies and quasars. Search the World Wide Web for information about observations of the Lockman hole. What has been learned through X-ray observations made by spacecraft such as ROSAT and XMM-Newton?
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