Skip Navigation
menu close modal
Resources

Quasar

A graphic shows a tilted disc in the center. A dark, diffuse purple ring lines its outer edge. The dark purple fades inward to a bright purple, light blue, and then lighter until it reaches the center where there is a black spot. From both the top and bottom of the disk's center, an icy light blue beam shoots out.
Credit: NASA
Published: December 1, 2022

An illustration of a quasar. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.

ENLARGE

Explore the Universe

Related

An illustration of NASA's TESS spacecraft.
More
This illustration of NASA's TESS shows the spacecraft in shades of blue. The multi-sided, cylindrical shaped main body of the satellite has two solar array "wings," each extending out from the sides of the satellite which is attached to an open, cone shaped bottom piece. Nestled inside the cone are four squares which show the relative positions of TESS’s cameras.
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)
An illustration of a planetary nebula.An illustration of a planetary nebula. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.
More
A transparent, colorful hourglass shape has a central point that is a white circle surrounded by bright, light haze. Extending out from the center in opposite directions are plumes of color that form the hourglass shape. Each starts as blue near the central circle, then fades into a purplish pink color. The outline of the hourglass shape is wavy and white dots representing stars speckle the image.
Planetary Nebula (Version Two, Pink)
An illustration showing a face-on view of a black hole.
More
A graphic shows a dark but diffuse purple ring that is centered in the image. The dark purple fades into a bright purple, then a light blue that fades lighter towards the center where there is a bold, black circle.
Black Hole
An illustration showing a blue, front view of a barred spiral galaxy.
More
A background of medium, bright blue shows a bright, white, thin line that creates an oblong, elongated swirl that connects in the middle with a lighter blue, diffuse cloud. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Barred Spiral Galaxy (Front View, Blue)
An illustration showing the side of a purple spiral galaxy.
More
A horizontal oval is outlined by a diffuse, bright purple surrounding a darker purple outline which fades through lighter and brighter purple colors as it moves inward. The center of the shape is a hazy yellow circle. Cutting across the center of the image is a flattened disc outlined in light blue with a blueish-gray center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Spiral Galaxy (Side View, Purple)
An illustration of an orange and yellow elliptical galaxy.
More
A diffuse oval is outlined by a light orange-ish yellow but gets progressively lighter in rings towards the center, a bright white spot surrounded by a small ring of white haze. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Elliptical Galaxy (Orange/Yellow)
A textbook illustration of a pulsar.
More
This object resembles a tilted open clamshell with a pearl in the center. The two halves of the shape have curved stripes that start as a bold, dark blue on the outside and move inward towards the center, getting brighter and lighter. In the center is a bright white circle with transparent yellow beams emerging from its sides.
Pulsar (Version One)
An illustration of a purple star-forming nebula.
More
A large, amorphous blob in a circular shape has layers of transparent, hazy color overlapping. The different layers start with a slight blue and dark purple around the outer rim and move inward to brighter purples. While white dots representing stars speckle the whole image, in the upper left part of this shape is a bright white circular cloud with more pronounced and larger stars grouped together.
Star-forming Nebula (Version Two, Purple)
An illustration of ESA's Planck spacecraft.
More
This illustration shows ESA's Planck spacecraft in shades of blue. The craft has a circular base topped by a short instrument with an open top and instrument pieces visible inside.
Planck
An illustration of NASA's SuperTIGER instrument.
More
This illustration shows NASA's SuperTIGER instrument in shades of blue. This balloon-borne instrument has a main, box-shaped body on top of a structure that has panels attached to the bottom and a piece of the structure that extends outward on one side of the box-shaped instrument body.
SuperTIGER (Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder)
An illustration of a planetary nebula.
More
In the background is a hazy blue circle, with dark, transparent blue around the edge and lighter/brighter blues leading inward. In front of the blue circle is a blueish-gray object, shaped like a minimal, twisty lemon. Inside of this shape is a central, light yellow, cloudy circle with a bright white spot in the middle. All within the lemon-shaped object, the white spot is surrounded by an oblong oval shape which is overlapped by two large circular shapes and two small circular shapes. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Planetary Nebula (Version One, Blue)
An illustration of a blue spiral galaxy.
More
A hazy range of blues with darker blue around the edge makes up the base of this swirling spiral of white lines twirling inward toward a white cloud with a white spot in the center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Spiral Galaxy (Blue)
An illustration showing a blue, side view of a barred spiral galaxy.
More
An illustration has an elongated oval in light blue stretching across the center, outlined in a darker blue. Behind the strip is a diffuse, very light blue cloud that fades into a light blue and then a darker blue. All over the image are white speckles, representing stars.
Barred Spiral Galaxy (Side View, Blue)
An illustration of a blue star-forming nebula.
More
A large, amorphous blob in a circular shape has layers of transparent, hazy color overlapping. The different layers are a range of transparent blues, some greener shades than others. While white dots representing stars speckle the whole image, in the upper left part of this shape is a bright white circular cloud with more pronounced and larger stars grouped together.
Star-forming Nebula (Version Two, Blue)
An illustration of NASA's Swift observatory.
More
This illustration shows the Swift observatory in shades of blue. A multi-sided cylindrical body is flanked by two solar array "wings." The front face has a large squared-off half-circle instrument, two small cylindrical telescopes, and a shield along the top edge.
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
An illustration of NASA's WISE spacecraft.
More
This illustration of NASA's WISE mission shows the spacecraft in shades of blue. WISE has a short, multi-sided cylindrical main body that connects to a thinner and longer open cylindrical piece. The craft's main body is attached to a large, flat panel on top.
WISE/NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared survey Explorer)
An illustration showing the side of a blue spiral galaxy.
More
A horizontal oval is outlined by diffused, dark blue surrounding a brighter blue which fades to be lighter and brighter as it moves inward. The center of the shape is a hazy white circle. Cutting across the center of the image is a flattened disc outlined in dark blue with a light blue center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Spiral Galaxy (Side View, Blue)
An illustration of a short gamma-ray burst caused by merging neutron stars.
More
At the center of this graphic of a short gamma-ray burst is a black dot representing a black hole. A cloud of debris, represented as a yellow-ish filled-in figure eight is centered on the black hole and tilted 45 degrees to the right. A pair of white-ish, cone-shaped jets are aligned with the figure eight and extend above and below the black holes. Additional debris is represented as a blue oval and a filled-in eternity symbol, both centered on the black hole and tilted 45 degrees to the left.
Short Gamma-Ray Burst From Merging Neutron Stars
A circular illustration of a supernova.
More
A large circular shape with rounded waves around the edge, this graphic gives the appearance of a flower. Smaller transparent circles with the same wavy edge are layered inward to create an inner starburst shape. While the outer rings are a muddy, light red color, the inner starburst shape is a darker color with green around its edge and dark blue in the center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Supernova (Red)
An illustration of NASA's NuSTAR space telescope.
More
This illustration shows NASA's NuSTAR space telescope in shades of blue. Attached to the base of the instrument is a long, tower-like structure that extends out towards the front of the spacecraft that has a singular, wing-shaped solar array attached.
NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array)
An illustration of a purple spiral galaxy.
More
A hazy range of purples makes up the base of this swirling spiral of light blue lines twirling inward toward a yellow cloud with a white spot in the center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Spiral Galaxy (Purple)
An illustration of a blazar, or an active galactic nucleus that emits a powerful radiation jet. 
More
A graphic shows a diffused, dark purple ring that fades inward to a bright purple, a lighter purple, and eventually to a light blue gradient. At the center of the circular object is a small black circle from which a transparent beam is emitted, starting as a transparent blue and moving into green, yellow, orange and red.
Blazar
An illustration of NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope.
More
This illustration shows NASA's Kepler mission in shades of blue. The main body of the spacecraft is cylindrical in shape, with a slanted top and a base that attaches to a structure wrapping around half of the main body of the craft.
Kepler Space Telescope
An illustration of the HaloSat spacecraft.
More
This HaloSat illustration shows the space telescope in shades of blue. The body of the spacecraft is a rectangle with three circles along the long, narrow side. One solar panel extends from the spacecraft body.
HaloSat
An illustration of a planetary nebula.
More
A subtly transparent, colorful hourglass shape has a central point that is a white circle surrounded by bright, white haze. Extending outward from the center in opposite directions are plums of color that form the hourglass shape. The central part of each plume starts as an icy, light blue and fades upward into a purple color and outward into red. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Planetary Nebula (Version Two, Purple)

Explore the Universe

Related News

This image features a galaxy called 3C 297 that is lonelier than expected after it likely pulled in and absorbed its former companion galaxies.
More
Chandra Helps Astronomers Discover a Surprisingly Lonely Galaxy
Chandra Helps Astronomers Discover a Surprisingly Lonely Galaxy
A new study using Chandra X-ray Observatory has tracked two pairs of supermassive black holes in dwarf galaxies.
More
NASA's Chandra Discovers Giant Black Holes on Collision Course
NASA's Chandra Discovers Giant Black Holes on Collision Course
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have recorded a star's final moments in detail as it gets gobbled up by a black hole.
More
Hubble Finds Hungry Black Hole Twisting Captured Star Into Donut Shape
Hubble Finds Hungry Black Hole Twisting Captured Star Into Donut Shape
Hundreds of black holes previously hidden, or buried, have been found using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
More
Astronomers Dig Out Buried Black Holes with NASA's Chandra
Astronomers Dig Out Buried Black Holes with NASA's Chandra
NASA's Swift and Fermi missions detected a high-energy gamma-ray burst about 1 billion light-years away.
More
NASA Missions Probe Game-Changing Cosmic Explosion
NASA Missions Probe Game-Changing Cosmic Explosion
A new sonification turns X-ray “light echoes” from a black hole called V404 Cygni into sound.
More
'Listen' to the Light Echoes From a Black Hole
'Listen' to the Light Echoes From a Black Hole
NASA's IXPE found that the flow of matter toward the black hole’s disk is more edge on than previously thought.
More
NASA's IXPE Reveals Shape, Orientation of Hot Matter Around Black Hole
NASA's IXPE Reveals Shape, Orientation of Hot Matter Around Black Hole
NASA’s newest X-ray eyes are open and ready for discovery.
More
NASA's New IXPE Mission Begins Science Operations
NASA's New IXPE Mission Begins Science Operations
NASA’s IXPE mission launched Thursday, December 9, 2021, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
More
NASA Launches New Mission to Explore Universe's Most Dramatic Objects
NASA Launches New Mission to Explore Universe's Most Dramatic Objects
NASA’s Roman will use its microlensing survey to provide the best opportunity yet to definitively detect solitary small black holes.
More
How NASA's Roman Telescope Will Uncover Lonesome Black Holes
How NASA's Roman Telescope Will Uncover Lonesome Black Holes
Black holes are some of the most bizarre and fascinating objects in the cosmos – but they're invisible!
More
Black Holes: Seeing the Invisible!
Black Holes: Seeing the Invisible!
For the first time, scientists mapped out the invisible magnetic fields pulsing through Centaurus A using infrared light.
More
Galactic Merger Warps Magnetic Fields
Galactic Merger Warps Magnetic Fields
An international team of astronomers discovered a cosmic equivalent to Yellow Stone's Old Faithful geyser.
More
NASA Missions Help Investigate an ‘Old Faithful' Active Galaxy
NASA Missions Help Investigate an ‘Old Faithful' Active Galaxy
Explore the bonds between some of the universe’s notable couples
More
Cosmic Couples and Devastating Breakups
Cosmic Couples and Devastating Breakups
After more than 16 years studying the universe in infrared light, NASA's Spitzer mission has come to an end.
More
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope Ends Mission of Astronomical Discovery
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope Ends Mission of Astronomical Discovery
For the first time, NASA’s TESS watched a black hole tear apart a star.
More
NASA's TESS Mission Spots Its 1st Star-shredding Black Hole
NASA's TESS Mission Spots Its 1st Star-shredding Black Hole
NuSTAR’s observations of an ultraluminous X-ray source offer possible explanations for these mysterious objects.
More
NASA Satellite Spots a Mystery That's Gone in a Flash
NASA Satellite Spots a Mystery That's Gone in a Flash
Since its launch, NASA’s Spitzer has lifted the veil on the wonders of the cosmos using infrared light.
More
Sixteen Images for Spitzer's Sweet 16
Sixteen Images for Spitzer's Sweet 16
By combining NASA Chandra data with the EHT image, scientists can learn more about the giant black hole M87* and its behavior.
More
Chandra Captures X-rays in Coordination with Event Horizon Telescope
Chandra Captures X-rays in Coordination with Event Horizon Telescope
Scientists charted the environment surrounding a stellar-mass black hole using NASA’s NICER.
More
NASA's NICER Mission Maps ‘Light Echoes' of New Black Hole
NASA's NICER Mission Maps ‘Light Echoes' of New Black Hole
Did you know our Milky Way galaxy is blowing bubbles? Two of them, each 25,000 light-years tall!
More
Blowing Bubbles in the Gamma-ray Sky
Blowing Bubbles in the Gamma-ray Sky
For the first time, scientists using NASA’s Fermi found the source of a high-energy neutrino from outside our galaxy.
More
NASA's Fermi Traces Source of Cosmic Neutrino to Monster Black Hole
NASA's Fermi Traces Source of Cosmic Neutrino to Monster Black Hole
NASA’s Chandra data were critical in determining if a neutron star merger created a heavier neutron star or black hole.
More
Gravitational Wave Event Likely Signaled Creation of a Black Hole
Gravitational Wave Event Likely Signaled Creation of a Black Hole
NuSTAR identified two gas-enshrouded supermassive black holes at the centers of nearby galaxies.
More
Black Holes Hide in Our Cosmic Backyard
Black Holes Hide in Our Cosmic Backyard
These data from NASA’s Chandra gave astronomers a look at the growth of black holes over billions of years.
More
Chandra Deep Field South: Deepest X-ray Image Ever Reveals Black Hole Treasure Trove
Chandra Deep Field South: Deepest X-ray Image Ever Reveals Black Hole Treasure Trove