Quasars
Quasars are defined as ‘an astronomical entity that emits incredibly high levels of electromagnetic radiation (including light). The amount of energy emitted by a quasar dwarfs even the brightest stars,’ (About.com)
Believed to have formed when matter drawn into a super-sized blackhole is thrown back out creating superextreme beams of energy. Quasars have a short lifespan. According to About there are approximately 60,000 known quasars and if it points to Earth, it is known as a Blazar.
It’s certainly an amazing sight, with the closest one being a mere 780 million light-years away.
Quasars in science fiction
I’m not sure there are any (although I am sure there must be, but I couldn’t find any to talk about). Oridinary, average, run-of-the-mill blackholes are quite common though, but it would be cheating to discuss them when the focus of this blog is quasars.
(Another post I need to revisit when I’ve done a little more research into it)