thenewenlightenmentage: What are Quasars and Blazars? Blazars and quasars are both subclasses of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Blazars and quasars are intrinsically the same object — a supermassive black hole with a surrounding accretion disk, producing a jet — but seen at different orientation angles with respect to the jet’s axis.1 Quasar is short for Quasi Stellar Radio Source. History The discovery of Quasars in 1963 provided a final piece of evidence that undermined the Steady State theory of the universe, and supported the Big Bang.  Maarten Schmidt, a Caltech astronomer working at Mt. Palomar Observatory, was credited with discovering the most distant object observed to date—so bright that it was mistaken for a star; but it was billion light years away.  Because of the Doppler shift, the characteristic lines with which we identify stars were not at the expected wavelengths.    Schmidt’s discovery capped an exciting period in which the distance scale of the universe was expanded nearly tenfold, thanks to the contributions of Walter Baade, Alan Sandage, the new science of radio astronomy, and the magnificent telescopes of Mount Palomar. Not all radio sources can be seen in visible light.  Many are thought to be distant galaxies.  The Sun emits radio waves that are easily detected because it is so close to us, but most stars are not bright radio sources. In 1963 Maarten Schmidt was studying radio Source 3C 273.  It was unusual because the radio signals appeared to be coming from a star. At first the spectrum of the star was puzzling.   Schmidt could not figure out what elements produced the bight spectral lines.  Then he realized that the unfamiliar lines were simply the bright emission lines from hydrogen gas that had been shifted to different wavelengths. According to Hubble’s Law, an object with that red shift must be located billions of light-years away. It must be brighter than a million galaxies to appear as bright as a star at that great distance. 3C 273 came to be known as a quasar, short for quasi-stellar radio source, since it looks like a star, but cannot possibly be one since it is so bright.  In subsequent years many more quasars were found, including some much further away than 3C 273. These findings dealt a serious blow the Steady State theory, which proposed that the universe is more or less uniform, so that young galaxies should be distributed evenly, with some close and some far away.  If quasars are only found at great distances, they could very well be young galaxies, since we are seeing them much earlier in the history of the universe. (Light from an object a billion light years away takes a billion years to reach us.)  Therefore, Maarten Schmidt’s discovery of quasars added another important piece of evidence in favor of the Big Bang theory.  It also amazed the readers of Time magazine that astronomers could look so far away in space and time.2 Known Quasars and Blazars  PKS 1127-145 4 HE 1104-1805 5 The largest known structure in the universe is a large group of quasars rightly called the LQG (Large Quasar Group).  It’s four billion light-years from end to end! (Read More) For more Quasars click here. Some examples of blazars include 3C 454.3, 3C 273, BL Lacertae, PKS 2155-304, Markarian 421, and Markarian 501. The latter two are also called “TeV Blazars” for their high energy (teraelectron-volt range) gamma-ray emission.5 1 http://www.astronomy.com/en/News-Observing/Ask%20Astro/2011/01/Blazar%20vs,-d-,%20quasar.aspx 2 http://cosmology.carnegiescience.edu/timeline/1963 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PKS_1127-145_X-rays.jpg 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Quasar_HE_1104-1805.jpg 5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazar
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thenewenlightenmentage:

What are Quasars and Blazars?

Blazars and quasars are both subclasses of active galactic nuclei (AGN).

Blazars and quasars are intrinsically the same object — a supermassive black hole with a surrounding accretion disk, producing a jet — but seen at different orientation angles with respect to the jet’s axis.1

Quasar is short for Quasi Stellar Radio Source.

History

The discovery of Quasars in 1963 provided a final piece of evidence that undermined the Steady State theory of the universe, and supported the Big Bang.  Maarten Schmidt, a Caltech astronomer working at Mt. Palomar Observatory, was credited with discovering the most distant object observed to date—so bright that it was mistaken for a star; but it was billion light years away.  Because of the Doppler shift, the characteristic lines with which we identify stars were not at the expected wavelengths.   

Schmidt’s discovery capped an exciting period in which the distance scale of the universe was expanded nearly tenfold, thanks to the contributions of Walter Baade, Alan Sandage, the new science of radio astronomy, and the magnificent telescopes of Mount Palomar.

Not all radio sources can be seen in visible light.  Many are thought to be distant galaxies.  The Sun emits radio waves that are easily detected because it is so close to us, but most stars are not bright radio sources. In 1963 Maarten Schmidt was studying radio Source 3C 273.  It was unusual because the radio signals appeared to be coming from a star. At first the spectrum of the star was puzzling.   Schmidt could not figure out what elements produced the bight spectral lines.  Then he realized that the unfamiliar lines were simply the bright emission lines from hydrogen gas that had been shifted to different wavelengths. According to Hubble’s Law, an object with that red shift must be located billions of light-years away. It must be brighter than a million galaxies to appear as bright as a star at that great distance.

3C 273 came to be known as a quasar, short for quasi-stellar radio source, since it looks like a star, but cannot possibly be one since it is so bright.  In subsequent years many more quasars were found, including some much further away than 3C 273. These findings dealt a serious blow the Steady State theory, which proposed that the universe is more or less uniform, so that young galaxies should be distributed evenly, with some close and some far away.  If quasars are only found at great distances, they could very well be young galaxies, since we are seeing them much earlier in the history of the universe. (Light from an object a billion light years away takes a billion years to reach us.)  Therefore, Maarten Schmidt’s discovery of quasars added another important piece of evidence in favor of the Big Bang theory.  It also amazed the readers of Time magazine that astronomers could look so far away in space and time.2

Known Quasars and Blazars

 PKS 1127-145

4

HE 1104-1805

5

The largest known structure in the universe is a large group of quasars rightly called the LQG (Large Quasar Group).  It’s four billion light-years from end to end! (Read More)

For more Quasars click here.

Some examples of blazars include 3C 454.3, 3C 273, BL Lacertae, PKS 2155-304, Markarian 421, and Markarian 501. The latter two are also called “TeV Blazars” for their high energy (teraelectron-volt range) gamma-ray emission.5

1 http://www.astronomy.com/en/News-Observing/Ask%20Astro/2011/01/Blazar%20vs,-d-,%20quasar.aspx

2 http://cosmology.carnegiescience.edu/timeline/1963

3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PKS_1127-145_X-rays.jpg

4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Quasar_HE_1104-1805.jpg

5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazar

therevenants: As a thank you for helping me reach 1k+ followers, I’m giving away a free ladybug pendant from my new line of glass! This pendant was made using Forest Green, Crayon Red, and Jet Black borosilicate glass, and was also properly kiln-annealed for durability. It is a little under 2 inches in length. The rules for this giveaway are as follows: You must be following my blog: theRevenants.tumblr.com It is not required but would be awesome if you could add my new glass page on Facebook - I’ll be doing a giveaway there as well once I reach 1k friends: Facebook.com/LadyRevenant.Glass Open to U.S. residents only. (Sorry to my international followers!) Shipping is on me and your glass will be packaged well. Only enter if you are comfortable giving me your name and address, as I’ll need that information to mail your pendant. Likes will not count for anything. Every reblog counts as an entry; therefore, the more times you reblog, the greater your chances of winning. There is no limit on reblogs but please don’t spam, and be sure to keep all text in the post. The contest will run through Thursday, May 30th, 2013 at 11:59pm EST. I will then choose a winner using Random.org and notify that person on Friday the 31st. The winner will have one full week (7 days) to respond and claim their prize. If I don’t hear back from them in that time, another winner will be selected. Make sure your ask boxes are open. The winner will only be announced if they do not wish to remain anonymous, but a post will be made either way to let everyone know when the prize has been claimed. If you have any questions, send them here. Please stick around when the contest is over as I am planning more for the future. :) Thanks! Awesome!! Look how cute it is!!!! @-@
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therevenants:

As a thank you for helping me reach 1k+ followers, I’m giving away a free ladybug pendant from my new line of glass!

This pendant was made using Forest Green, Crayon Red, and Jet Black borosilicate glass, and was also properly kiln-annealed for durability. It is a little under 2 inches in length.

The rules for this giveaway are as follows:

  • You must be following my blog: theRevenants.tumblr.com
  • It is not required but would be awesome if you could add my new glass page on Facebook - I’ll be doing a giveaway there as well once I reach 1k friends: Facebook.com/LadyRevenant.Glass
  • Open to U.S. residents only. (Sorry to my international followers!) Shipping is on me and your glass will be packaged well. Only enter if you are comfortable giving me your name and address, as I’ll need that information to mail your pendant.
  • Likes will not count for anything. Every reblog counts as an entry; therefore, the more times you reblog, the greater your chances of winning. There is no limit on reblogs but please don’t spam, and be sure to keep all text in the post.
  • The contest will run through Thursday, May 30th, 2013 at 11:59pm EST. I will then choose a winner using Random.org and notify that person on Friday the 31st. The winner will have one full week (7 days) to respond and claim their prize. If I don’t hear back from them in that time, another winner will be selected. Make sure your ask boxes are open. The winner will only be announced if they do not wish to remain anonymous, but a post will be made either way to let everyone know when the prize has been claimed.

If you have any questions, send them here.

Please stick around when the contest is over as I am planning more for the future. :) Thanks!

Awesome!! Look how cute it is!!!!
@-@

(via therevenants)

thenewenlightenmentage: Humans With Amplified Intelligence Could Be More Powerful Than AI With much of our attention focused the rise of advanced artificial intelligence, few consider the potential for radically amplified human intelligence (IA). It’s an open question as to which will come first, but a technologically boosted brain could be just as powerful — and just as dangerous – as AI. We spoke to a leading futurist to learn more. Continue Reading
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thenewenlightenmentage:

Humans With Amplified Intelligence Could Be More Powerful Than AI

With much of our attention focused the rise of advanced artificial intelligence, few consider the potential for radically amplified human intelligence (IA). It’s an open question as to which will come first, but a technologically boosted brain could be just as powerful — and just as dangerous – as AI. We spoke to a leading futurist to learn more.

Continue Reading

(via wildcat2030)

Source: io9.com

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