NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has revealed striking details. Astronomers studied the active black hole powering the quasar 3C 273.
Quasars are luminous galactic centres fuelled by black holes. They shine brightly as material spirals into the black hole. Hubble’s advanced instruments allowed unprecedented exploration of 3C 273.
Strange Structures Surrounding the Black Hole
Researchers uncovered intriguing structures near the black hole. These include blobs of varying sizes and an L-shaped filament. Some structures might be satellite galaxies feeding the black hole.
A Hubble Space Telescope image of the core of quasar 3C 273. A coronagraph on Hubble blocks out the glare coming from the supermassive black hole at the heart of the quasar. (Image: NASA)
“Hubble offers fresh insights into quasars,” said Bin Ren. He leads the Côte d'Azur Observatory's study on the quasar.
3C 273, the first quasar discovered, lies 2.5 billion light-years away. Its light outshines even the brightest galaxies tenfold.
Hubble's coronagraph blocked the intense glare of the quasar. This allowed astronomers to focus on its nearby environment. Researchers observed an extragalactic jet stretching 300,000 light-years.
The jet's speed increases as it moves farther out. This discovery bridges gaps in quasar-host galaxy observations.
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Quasars peaked in number three billion years post-Big Bang. Astronomers use them as cosmic tools to study galaxy evolution.
The Legacy of the Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope remains vital after 30 years. Its legacy continues to reshape our understanding of the cosmos.
Hubble is a joint mission of NASA and ESA. Operations are managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
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