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NASA’s Webb Will Use Quasars to Unlock the Secrets of the Early Universe

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June 23, 2021 10:00AM (EDT)Release ID: 2021-026
Artist’s concept of an active galaxy with a brilliant quasar against the black background of space. Fluffy red, blue, and brown material surround the galaxy’s center, forming a swirling disk. In the center of the angled galaxy is a bright white ball. A cone of pink and green material projects out from the central ball, extending above and below the galaxy. At the center of the cone is a bright white beam that also extends above and below. A few points of light, distant galaxies and stars, are scattered across the background.

Summary

Looking back in time, Webb will see quasars as they appeared billions of years ago 

Outshining all the stars in their host galaxies combined, quasars are among the brightest objects in the universe. These brilliant, distant and active supermassive black holes shape the galaxies in which they reside. Shortly after its launch, scientists will use Webb to study six of the most far-flung and luminous quasars, along with their host galaxies, in the very young universe. They will examine what part quasars play in galaxy evolution during these early times. The team will also use the quasars to study the gas in the space between galaxies in the infant universe. Only with Webb’s extreme sensitivity to low levels of light and its superb angular resolution will this be possible.

Full Article

Quasars are very bright, distant and active supermassive black holes that are millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun. Typically located at the centers of galaxies, they feed on infalling matter and unleash fantastic torrents of radiation. Among the brightest objects in the universe, a quasar’s light outshines that of all the stars in its host galaxy combined, and its jets and winds shape the galaxy in which it resides.   Shortly after its launch later this year, a team of scientists will train NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope on six of the most distant and luminous ...

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