1 definition by Daniel Spargo
qua·sar (kwzär, -sär, -zr, -sr) n.
1. An extremely distant, and thus old, celestial object whose power output is several thousand times that of our entire galaxy.
2. a starlike object that may send out radio waves and other forms of energy; large red shifts imply enormous recession velocities
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quas(i-stellar) + (st)ar.
1. An extremely distant, and thus old, celestial object whose power output is several thousand times that of our entire galaxy.
2. a starlike object that may send out radio waves and other forms of energy; large red shifts imply enormous recession velocities
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quas(i-stellar) + (st)ar.
The only mechanism people could think of that would produce such large quantities of energy seemed to be the gravitational collapse not just of a star but of the whole central region of a galaxy. This is now known to be a quasar.
by Daniel Spargo July 9, 2005