Quasar Origins Explained by Studying Distant Galaxies

Quasar origins have been a mystery to astrophysicists since they discovered these quasi-stellar radio sources sixty years ago. Find out how a team of researchers discovered that quasars ignite when galaxies collide.

When I was growing up during the space race, the fanciest, most modern televisions came from a brand called Quasar from Motorola. They were one of the first solid state TV sets, and they had their “works in a drawer” instead of the bulky vacuum tubes we used to have to replace all the time.

My dad was more of an RCA guy, mainly because a friend of his ran a TV dealership and repair business, but I remember that Quasar had the coolest ads. I think Motorola chose the brand name “Quasar” because that was the name of a groundbreaking and mysterious space topic.

I don’t think any of us understood what quasars were, but we knew they were “out of this world.” Anything connected with outer space was synonymous with leading-edge futuristic progress back then.

First Quasar Discovered in 1960

Astronomers Allan Sandage and Thomas Matthews had discovered the first quasar in 1960. Using radio…