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Chapter 25: Problem 8

It was suggested in the 1960 s that quasars might be compact objects ejected at high speeds from the centers of nearby ordinary galaxies. Explain why the absence of blueshifted quasars disproves this hypothesis.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The absence of blueshifted quasars disproves the hypothesis as we only see redshifted quasars, which means they're moving away from us. If quasars were indeed ejected from nearby galaxies, we would also see a significant number of blueshifted quasars, indicating movement towards us.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the core idea of the hypothesis

The given hypothesis states that quasars could possibly be compact objects that are ejected at high speeds from the centers of nearby ordinary galaxies. If this were to be true, we would see both redshifted and blueshifted quasars. Redshifted when they're moving away from us and blueshifted when moving towards us.
02

Analyzing the observed quasar motion

From observations, it's found out that there are no blueshifted quasars detected. All quasars show a redshift. Redshift happens when an object in space is moving away from us, making the wavelength of its light stretched out and appear more towards the red section of the color spectrum.
03

Conclusion

The absence of blueshifted quasars, or quasars moving towards us, contradicts the ejected matter hypothesis. If quasars were ejected from nearby galaxies, we would see some moving towards us (blueshifted). But as we only see redshifted quasars (moving away from us), this disproves the given hypothesis.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

If you have access to a telescope with an aperture of at least \(40 \mathrm{~cm}\) (16 in.), you might try to observe the brightest-appearing quasar, \(3 \mathrm{C} \mathrm{} 273\), which has an apparent magnitude of nearly \(+13\). It is located in Virgo at coordinates R.A. \(=12^{\mathrm{h}} 29^{\mathrm{m}} 07^{\mathrm{s}}\) and Decl. \(=+2^{\circ} 03^{\prime} 07^{\prime \prime}\).

Use a telescope with an aperture of at least \(20 \mathrm{~cm}\) (8 in.) to observe the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 1068 (also known as M77). Located in the constellation Cetus (the Whale), this galaxy is most easily seen from September through January. The epoch 2000 coordinates are R.A. \(=2^{\mathrm{h}} 2.7^{\mathrm{m}}\) and Decl. \(=-0^{\circ} 01^{\prime}\). Sketch what you see. Is the galaxy's nucleus diffuse or starlike? How does this compare with other galaxies you have observed?

How were quasars first discovered? How was it discovered that they are very distant objects?

When we observe a quasar with redshift \(z=0.75\), how far into its past are we looking? If we could see that quasar as it really is right now (that is, if the light from the quasar could somehow reach us instantaneously), would it still look like a quasar? Explain why or why not.

What is a radio galaxy? What is a double radio source? Why do astronomers think these objects may be related to radioloud quasars?
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