PARIS: Astronomers said Wednesday that for the first time, they have confirmed what ignites quasars, the brightest and most powerful objects in the universe, which put galaxies in their "death throes".
These celestial behemoths form when two galaxies smash into each other, the astronomers said, warning that this could be the Milky Way's fate in a few billion years.
Quasars are one of the most extreme objects in the universe, some shining with the brightness of a trillion stars despite being packed into the space of our Solar System.
They sit in the heart of galaxies, powered by supermassive black holes, requiring a huge amount of gas to be so staggeringly bright.
But exactly what creates quasars has been a matter of debate since their discovery in the 1950s.
In a new study, an international team of researchers said they have "clear evidence" that quasars are triggered by two galaxies colliding, which releases the vast amounts of energy needed.
Clive Tadhunter, an astrophysicist at the University of Sheffield in the UK and one of the study's authors, told AFP that this could be the fate of the Milky Way one day.
The nearby Andromeda Galaxy is "coming directly towards us at about 200 kilometres (125 miles) a second," he said.
It will collide with the Milky War in roughly five billion years, and "we could get a quasar" as a result, he said.
Quasars push out all the gas from a galaxy, preventing any new stars from forming, he added.
The researchers compared observations of 48 galaxies with quasars at their centre to 100 without them.
Galaxies hosting quasars were three times as likely to have had collisions with other galaxies, the study said.
While the theory that such collisions ignited quasars has been around for decades, it was difficult to prove.
Tadhunter said this was because observations had often been carried out with telescopes that were optimised to look at objects in the centre of galaxies, but were less effective at spotting the distorted features at their edges that indicate past collisions.
For example, these diffuse structures "get washed out" when observed by the Hubble Space Telescope, he said.
So the team used land-based observatories, such as the Isaac Newton Telescope on the Spanish island of La Palma.
The new study, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, also reviewed previous research to show how it may have missed the tell-tale signs of collisions.
Tadhunter said that quasars "act like beacons to the distant universe" because of their incredible brightness.
The James Webb Space Telescope, which has a much bigger aperture than Hubble, could help reveal more about quasars in this distant universe, when the universe was in its infancy, he said.
Milky Way's fate? Astronomers reveal what ignites quasars
https://arab.news/m8s5c
Milky Way's fate? Astronomers reveal what ignites quasars
- Quasars form when two galaxies collide, releasing great energy
- Andromeda Galaxy is 'coming directly towards us at about 200 kilometres a second,' said astrophysicist Tadhunter
Turkish-language drama ‘Yellow Letters’ wins Berlin Film Festival’s top prize
- The report did not say who was to blame for the attacks
BERLIN: “Yellow Letters,” a Turkish-language drama about what happens to a marriage put under extraordinary political pressure, won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear top prize on Saturday night.
The drama filmed in Germany but set in Turkiye follows a married actor and playwright who have to leave behind their comfortable lives after the husband is targeted by the state for posting critical content online.
“I know what (this win) means to my cast and crew who came from Turkiye, who now are getting a visibility that is on an international scale,” Turkish-German director Ilker Catak told Reuters after the award ceremony.
The director, whose previous Berlin entry “The Teachers’ Lounge” was nominated for an Oscar, said it was important that the film was not just about Turkiye, but Germany as well.
“There is a sign that says 1933 and what we’ve seen in this country before, we must never forget,” he said, referring to the year that Adolf Hitler came to power.
This year’s jury president, legendary German director Wim Wenders, praised the winner as “a movie that speaks up very clearly about the political language of totalitarianism.”
In total, 22 films had been in the running.
POLITICAL FESTIVAL
The festival maintained its reputation as the most overtly political of its peers, Venice and Cannes, with the war in Gaza in particular dominating public discussions about the films.
“If this Berlinale has been emotionally charged, that’s not a failure of the Berlinale, and it’s not a failure of cinema,” said festival director Tricia Tuttle at the opening ceremony, using the festival’s nickname.
Wenders used his final appearance as jury president to urge filmmakers and activists to act as allies, not rivals, after his comment that filmmakers should not be political caused Indian novelist Arundhati Roy to pull out.
Several award winners used their speech to express solidarity with the Palestinians and other oppressed peoples.
“The least we can do here is to break the silence and remind them that they are not really alone,” said Turkish filmmaker Emin Alper, whose film “Salvation” took the second-place Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize.
Palestinian-Syrian director Abdallah Al-Khatib, whose “Chronicles From the Siege” won the Perspectives section for emerging filmmakers, criticized the German government for its stance on Gaza despite concerns about crossing a red line.
“I was under a lot of pressure to participate in Berlinale for one reason only, to stand here and say: ‘The Palestinians will be free,’” he said.
SANDRA HUELLER WINS AGAIN
German actor Sandra Hueller, who starred in 2024 Oscar-winning films “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Zone of Interest,” continued her winning streak by taking home best actor for the period piece “Rose,” in which she dresses as a man.
“To me, it’s special because I won my first-ever recognition as an actor in a film at this festival 20 years ago,” Hueller told Reuters, who won best actress in 2006 for “Requiem.”
“Queen at Sea,” a drama that follows French star Juliette Binoche as she deals with her mother’s advanced dementia and its effects on her marriage, won two prizes: the third-place jury prize and best supporting actor, shared by its two elderly performers, Anna Calder-Marshall and Tom Courtenay.
Director Lance Hammer, who last competed at the festival in 2008, said he hoped that maybe “people will see this and feel some comfort or relief that they’re not alone.”
Director Grant Gee won best director for “Everybody Digs Bill Evans,” a black-and-white biographical drama starring Norwegian actor Anders Danielsen Lie as the US jazz pianist.
“Nina Roza,” about an art curator who returns to Bulgaria to verify whether a child painting prodigy is genuine, won best screenplay while “Yo (Love is a Rebellious Bird)” took the prize for outstanding artistic contribution.
