Question

Which is NOT true of quasars?

A) The name “quasars” comes from “quasi-stellar radio source”
B) Quasars are believed to be exploding stars
C) Quasars can be one hundred times as luminous as the Milky Way Galaxy
D) Quasars are found near the centre of large galaxies
E) The energy from quasars is thought to come from regions just outside supermassive black holes

Answer 1

Quasars are said to be a galaxy of stars. They are said to be present at the centre of large galaxies and are the farthest object to our Earth known to mankind.

Complete step by step solution:
To solve this question, we’re going to look at all the options one by one.

Option A says: The name “quasars” comes from “quasi-stellar radio source”
This option is true. The name “quasar” is actually a contraction for “quasi-stellar radio source” which was their original name. Here, quasi-stellar means star-like. It was named so because it appeared to be a star when it was first discovered in 1950 as a source of radio waves emission of unknown physical origin.

Option B says: Quasars are believed to be exploding stars
This option is incorrect. First of all, quasars are not stars. They are a galaxy of stars powered by black holes. Secondly, they do not explode like other stars of our galaxy do after some time or the other.

Option C says: Quasars can be one hundred times as luminous as the Milky Way Galaxy
This option is true. Quasars are galaxies of stars and are humongous in size. They are said to be about a billion times bigger than our sun and about a hundred times bigger than our very own Milkyway galaxy.

Option D says: Quasars are found near the centre of large galaxies
This option is true. Quasars are found in large galaxies with a supermassive black hole to power them. Small galaxies cannot house a quasar or a black hole. Therefore, only large galaxies are capable of containing a quasar. They are always found in the centre of such galaxies.

Option E says: The energy from quasars is thought to come from regions just outside supermassive black holes

This option is also true. As mentioned above, quasars are said to be powered by massive black holes. This is said to be true because the energy from quasars is very huge and is thought to be coming from regions just outside supermassive black holes.

Final answer is option B

Note: Quasars are a part of large galaxies which house a supermassive black hole. They are said to be located at the centre of the galaxy. They are incredibly luminous and are powered by black holes. Their complete functioning is still unknown to us but we sure have gathered a tremendous amount of knowledge about them since they were discovered.