astronomy
: a region at the center of a galaxy that emits extremely powerful jets of radiation in the direction of the Earth
Estimated to weigh as much as 10 billion suns and residing 12.5 billion light-years from Earth, the black hole powers the oldest known blazar, a rare class of quasar in which a jet of particles and light points toward Earth. Many blazars also generate high-energy radiation, but X rays and gamma rays from the newfound blazar would have special significance. Such energetic emissions would provide a novel searchlight on the early universe, says Roger W. Romani of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.—
Ron Cowen, Science News, 3 July 2004 These blazars are a form of active galactic nuclei, objects that researchers know are prolific producers of radiation at other wavelengths.—Scott Wakely, Astronomy, September 2006 Active galaxies called blazars make up nearly half of the point sources Fermi detected during its first year. Astronomers think each blazar—like its better-known cousin, the quasar —harbors a well-fed black hole that may weigh a billion solar masses or more. As matter falls into this monster, the blazar emits oppositely directed jets of particles traveling near the speed of light. In the case of blazars, the most luminous class of active galaxy, astronomers suspect we're looking right down one of the jets, whereas we view quasars and other active-galaxy types at larger angles.—Francis Reddy, Astronomy, March 2010
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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