Space 101: The Difference Between 3 of My Favorite Celestial Bodies
PULSAR vs. QUASAR vs. BLAZAR
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PULSAR: A pulsar is a magnetized neutron star that emits periodic short pulses of radiation by rapid rotation at high speeds that travel up to several light years before dissipating into matter particles. Categorized as a star, these bodies have hypothetically been around for billions of years. The most recent and accurate guess to their beginnings is that pulsars start as regular stars that go through an explosion known as a "supernova" and enter a constant state of rotation as a result of lasting momentum after explosion, but this has not been confirmed nor denied as all found pulsars are at least thousands of years old. The first pulsar was discovered in 1967, when a postgraduate student, Jocelyn Bell, observed strange, almost mechanical-like pulses in the form of radio signals (about 1.33 seconds apart). The rhythm was jokingly nicknamed “LGM-1”, or “Little Green Men 1”, as the synthetic nature of the pulses appeared to be made by something unnatural (upon further research, this was debunked, but the idea is still cool yk?). Through discoveries made by astronomers and scientists over time, the conclusion of a “pulsar” was published in February of 1968. Pulsars are some of the most precise natural clocks in the universe, with some exhibiting rotational periods that are accurate to within a few millionths of a second over millions of years. They are typically found in binary systems, where they can be used to study the properties of their companion stars and the effects of gravity on their orbits. Pulsars can also be used to probe the interstellar medium and the magnetic fields of galaxies, as well as to test theories of gravity and the behavior of matter under extreme conditions. Pulsars are also important sources of high-energy radiation, which can be used to study the physics of neutron stars and their environments.
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QUASAR: A quasar is a supermassive black hole that emits massive amounts of energy as it consumes matter at the center of a galaxy. Quasars are categorized as active galactic nuclei. The first quasar was discovered in 1963, when astronomer Maarten Schmidt identified the radio source "3C 273" as being a star-like object with a very high redshift, indicating it was very distant and therefore very luminous. Quasars are some of the most luminous and energetic objects in the universe, with some emitting more energy than entire galaxies. They are typically found at the centers of galaxies and are powered by the accretion of matter onto supermassive black holes. Quasars can be used as probes of the early universe, as they are often found at high redshifts and can provide information about the conditions of the universe when it was much younger since light from quasars can take billions of years to reach Earth. Quasars are also important sources of high-energy radiation, which can be used to study the physics of black holes and the environments of galaxies. The universe is thought to contain millions of quasars, but only a small fraction of them are visible from Earth due to their great distances and the effects of cosmic dust and gas. Recently, astronomers have discovered quasars that are more than 13 billion light-years away, providing insights into the formation and evolution of early galaxies in the early universe.
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BLAZAR: A blazar is a supermassive black hole that emits a jet of high-energy particles and radiation directly towards Earth. Blazars are a type of active galactic nucleus (AGN) and are characterized by their rapid variability and high polarization. The first blazar was discovered in the 1970s, when astronomers observed a highly variable radio source known as "BL Lacertae". Blazars are some of the most energetic and variable objects in the universe, with some exhibiting changes in brightness on timescales of minutes to hours. They are typically found at the centers of galaxies and are powered by the accretion of matter onto supermassive black holes. Blazars can be used to study the physics of relativistic jets and the environments of supermassive black holes, as well as to probe the intergalactic medium and the large-scale structure of the universe. Blazars are also important sources of high-energy cosmic rays and neutrinos, which can provide insights into the most energetic processes in the universe. With their jets pointed directly at Earth, blazars are some of the brightest objects in the sky and can be observed across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to gamma rays. While the exact number of blazars in the universe is unknown, they are thought to be relatively rare, with only a few thousand known to date. (Blazars are my personal favorite of these three).