quasar

qua·sar

noun \ˈkwā-ˌzär also -ˌsär\

Definition of QUASAR

: any of a class of celestial objects that resemble stars but whose large redshift and apparent brightness imply extreme distance and huge energy output

Origin of QUASAR

quasi-stellar

First Known Use: 1964

Rhymes with QUASAR

Adar, Adzhar, afar, ajar, all-star, armoire, attar, bar car, bazaar, beaux arts, bête noire, beurre noir, Bihar, bizarre, boudoir, boxcar, boyar, Bronze Star, bulbar, Bulgar, bursar, bus bar, canard, cash bar, catarrh, Cathar, chair car, chukar, cigar, clochard, club car, coal tar, cougar, couloir, crossbar, crowbar, Dakar, daystar, debar, decare, devoir, dinar, disbar, Dog Star, drawbar, durbar, earthstar, Elgar, eschar, eyebar, feldspar, fern bar, film noir, five-star, fixed star, flatcar, fluorspar, four-star, fulmar, gaydar, gazar, guitar, Gunnar, Hagar, handcar, horsecar, hussar, Invar, Iyar, jaguar, Kádár, leaf scar, Lehár, lidar, Lifar, Loire, lounge car, lumbar, jack-tar, jowar, Khowar, lahar, lekvar, lodestar, Magyar, malar, memoir, Mylar, NASCAR, Navarre, nightjar, North Star, pace car, paillard, peignoir, pinch bar, Pindar, pine tar, pissoir, planar, plantar, polestar, pourboire, prowl car, pulsar, Qatar, qintar, radar, railcar, raw bar, rebar, red star, roll bar, Safar, Samar, sandbar, scalar, scout car, Sennar, shofar, sidebar, sidecar, sirdar, sitar, slop jar, slot car, snack bar, sofar, solar, sonar, sports bar, sports car, stock car, streetcar, Svalbard, sway bar, tank car, T-bar, toolbar, town car, tramcar, trocar, unbar, volar, voussoir, Weimar

quasar

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any of a class of enigmatic cosmic objects of high luminosity and strong radio emission observed at extremely great distances; also, a closely related object that has the same optical appearance but does not emit radio waves, i.e., a so-called quasi-stellar object (QSO). Most quasars exhibit very large redshifts, suggesting that they are moving away from Earth at tremendous speeds (approaching the speed of light); they thus are some of the most distant known objects in the universe. Quasars are no more than a light-year or two across but as much as 1,000 times more luminous than a giant galaxy having a diameter of 100,000 light-years; their extreme brightness allows them to be observed at distances of more than 10 billion light-years. Many investigators attribute such energy generation to matter spiraling at high velocity into a supermassive black hole (millions or billions of times as much mass as the Sun) at the centre of a distant galaxy. See also active galactic nucleus.

Variants of QUASAR

quasar in full quasi-stellar radio source