The newly discovered quasar was named after Professor Im Myung Shin

A joint research team led by Professor Im Myungshin (Department of Physics and Astronomy) and Minjin KIM (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute) reported having discovered a faint quasar created in the early universe. This is only the third time a quasar formed in the early universe has been discovered. Quasars, or quasi-stellar radio sources, are compact regions in the center of a massive galaxy surrounding a central supermassive black hole. Because quasars are so bright, they have been suggested as one of the main “culprits” for the source of re-ionizing energy. The team used the Gemini South telescope in Chile, and several telescopes on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, to make the discovery. The newly discovered quasar, named as IMS J220417.92+011144.8, is expected to harbor a black hole of about 10 million to 100 million solar masses. Its distance is about 12.8 billion light-years from us. The discovery was published in the November 10 issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Published in DongA Ilbo

Summary by LEE Hee Un, SNU English Editor, gurume0221@snu.ac.kr
Proofread by Melora Brett Briana Johnson, morningcalm2@gmail.com