The role that bright objects called quasars played in the early evolution of the universe will be explored by some of the first science investigations.
Quasars are powered by black holes that are a billion times larger than our sun. They emit energies that can reach trillions of electron volts, which is more than the output of all the stars in a typical galaxy.
The scientists will examine what part quasars play in the evolution of the galaxy. The team will use the quasars to study the gas in the space between the galaxies.
The most detailed set of observations yet of these elusive objects, which have only been known to science for about half a century, will be made with the help of a perch in deep space and its extreme sensitivity to low levels of light and high resolution.
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The telescope will be used for several quasar programs once it is finished. The most distant and Luminous quasars will be looked at to see if they fit in the timeline of the evolution of the universe. Gas distribution between the galaxies will be looked at by quasars.
The epoch of reionization is a period that scientists are interested in learning more about. 13 billion years ago, the universe was formed. Galaxies of the era were difficult to see because they were mostly opaque.
The team will use quasars as background light sources to study the gas between us and the quasar. They will look for absorption lines in the intervening gas through a technique called imaging spectroscopy.
The team members said that the ability to observe in the light of the IR will be a boon. The light of the most distant quasars was stretched by the expansion of space. Light waves are moved to the red or IR area of the spectrum, where they can be used to make observations.
It is hoped that the light from the quasars will allow for the detection of elements heavier than hydrogen or helium.
Outflows are an item on the agenda of the man, to better understand how gas from a black hole can push and heat up surrounding gas. The outflows can be so strong that they can cause chaos in the host galaxy.
The Canadian Space Agency wants to observe these quasars at the moment when they are having the largest impact on their host galaxies. Willott is a research scientist at the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre of the National Research Council of Canada.
Scientists know that removing gas from a galaxy will slow the rate of star formation. In some cases, star formation will cease completely because of outflows.
Scientists think that the main mechanism by which gas, dust and elements are redistributed over large distances within the galaxy is the outflows. The process may cause fundamental changes in the properties of the host galaxy and the intergalactic medium.
A full list of quasar investigations and principal investigators can be found on the guaranteed observations page.
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