This artist's impression shows the record-breaking quasar J059-4351.
A team of astronomers in Australia has identified an extraordinary celestial phenomenon. The most brilliant object ever detected in the universe. This massive quasar, energized by a colossal black hole, surpasses the brightness of our sun by an astonishing 500 trillion times.
The black hole central to this quasar is no ordinary one. With a mass 17 billion times that of our sun, it consumes the equivalent of the sun's material every day. This voracious consumption powers the quasar's remarkable luminosity, allowing it to be visible despite its light traveling an astonishing distance of 12 billion years to reach us.
The results of the researchers' investigation have been published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
The discovery initially began with a modest 2.3-meter telescope in Australia, but to validate their findings, researchers sought confirmation from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, equipped with an 8-meter mirror. This collaboration between the Australian National University, the European Southern Observatory, the University of Melbourne, and the Sorbonne Université resulted in a groundbreaking publication in the esteemed journal Nature Astronomy.
Lead author Associate Professor Christian Wolf from ANU said it's a record he doesn't think will ever be beaten.
"The incredible rate of growth also means a huge release of light and heat," Associate Professor Wolf said. "So, this is also the most luminous known object in the universe. It's 500 trillion times brighter than our sun."
Co-author Dr Christopher Onken added: "It's a surprise it remained undetected until now, given what we know about many other, less impressive black holes. It was hiding in plain sight."
"The light from this black hole has travelled over 12 billion years to reach us," Professor Rachel Webster from the University of Melbourne said.
"In the adolescent universe, matter was moving chaotically and feeding hungry black holes. Today, stars are moving orderly at safe distances and only rarely plunge into black holes."
The intense radiation comes from the accretion disc around the black hole, which is the holding pattern for all the material waiting to be devoured.
"It looks like a gigantic and magnetic storm cell with temperatures of 10,000 degrees Celsius, lightning everywhere, and winds blowing so fast they would go around Earth in a second," Associate Professor Wolf said.
"This storm cell is seven light years across, which is 50 per cent more than the distance from our solar system to the next star in the galaxy, alpha Centauri.
"We were only able to make these discoveries because of the Australian Government's 10-year partnership with the European Southern Observatory (ESO)."
The research was done in collaboration with the ESO, the University of Melbourne, and the Sorbonne Universite in France.