Peering into a gateway opened 50 years ago
Saturday, March 16, 2013 - 07:30
in Astronomy & Space
Maarten Schmidt's March 1963 discovery of the quasar, a cosmic beacon from matter plunging into a black hole, gave astronomers a glimpse into the early universe. Saturday marks the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the quasar — an extremely bright object powered by matter falling into a super-massive black hole lying in the heart of a galaxy.