An artist’s impression of a quasar
© ESO; Getty
Red quasars filled with cosmic dust produce stronger radio emissions than their bluer, dustfree counterparts – and these phenomena could represent a generation of younger active galaxies with supermassive black holes that only recently switched into overdrive. “There are still many unanswered questions surrounding red quasars, such as whether black hole winds or radio jets are ultimately responsible for this enhanced radio emission,” Victoria Fawcett, lead author of a new study on this finding and an astronomer at Newcastle University, said. However, Fawcett believes we’re getting close to the brink of fully understanding the nature of these incredible marvels.
A quasar is the powerful central region of an active galaxy driven by a supermassive black hole that is being fed huge amounts of matter. That matter forms a disc of gas around the black hole, known as an accretion disc, that reaches millions of degrees and releases fierce radiation winds. Meanwhile, magnetically collimated jets launch outwards from the disc. Quasars are so bright that they vastly outshine the collective starlight of their host galaxies, and can therefore be seen across the universe.