Brightest object in Universe found: It's “500 trillion times more luminous than the Sun”, experts say
Astronomers and researchers have been studying the Universe for decades with the help of advanced telescopes and equipment around the world. Now, with the help of the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have located the brightest object in Universe. It is a quasar. Experts believe that this is the most luminous object ever found in deep space. And the brightness does not stem from something ordinary. The quasar is said to be energized by what is reported to be the fastest-growing black hole on record. Know more about the brightest object in the Universe here.
According to a study published in Nature Astronomy, the brightest quasar was spotted by ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) and it is said to be 500 trillion times brighter than our Sun. The quasar has been designated as J0529-4351 and it was spotted by the Australian National University scientists who also claim the quasar is powered by the rapidly expanding black hole. It took over 12 billion years for the light from the celestial object to reach Earth. ANU associate professor Christian Wolf and the lead author of the study said, “We have discovered the fastest-growing black hole known to date. It has a mass of 17 billion Suns, and eats just over a Sun per day. This makes it the most luminous object in the known Universe.”
As per the report, the bright light of the quasar is said to have originated from an accretion disc which has a diameter of seven light years. This massive disc attracts the material from a massive area across space and spins around the black hole. When these materials come in contact with each other, they create a massive amount of light and heat. Wolf added, “It looks like a gigantic magnetic storm cell with temperatures of 10,000 degrees Celsius, lightning everywhere and winds blowing so fast they would go around Earth in a second.”
Experts from the study said that they were surprised that the object remained hidden even when located in plain sight.
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