Radio-loud quasars and blazars.

• Position: Astronomy - Brief Article

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have found new evidence to suggest that all radio-loud quasars may be blazars and that the differences between them may be related to the angle from which they are viewed. Following a spectroscopic survey of 62 quasars using the H.J. Smith telescope at the school's McDonald Observatory, astronomers Feng Ma and Beverley Wills say there are indications suggesting that radio-loud quasars are simply blazars seen from the side. "A blazar is a special type of quasar that beams an intense jet of radiation in our direction. It's as if we're looking into a searchlight beam," explains Wills. A quasar is a star-like object that emits more energy than 100 giant galaxies combined and is among the most-distant objects found so far in the universe. The brilliance of a quasar is believed to originate from swirling gas and stars in the process of falling into a gigantic black hole at the quasar's...