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Quasar (Illustration)

A disk with blue, light blue, and white swirls extends at an angle from bottom left to top right. The disk’s central region is bright white. From that area, two wide, diffuse jets of gas extend in opposing directions, to the top left and lower right. The background is black.

Quasars — accreting supermassive black holes — are paradoxically some of the brightest objects in the universe. Astronomers widely consider the energy from quasars to be the main driver in limiting the growth of massive galaxies. Scientists plan to use Webb to study the impact of three carefully selected quasars on their host galaxies in a program called Q3D.

Release Date
August 19, 2020
Science Release
NASA’s Webb to Study Quasars and Their Host Galaxies in Three Dimensions
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Credit
Image: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

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Last Updated

Aug 28, 2025

Contact

Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

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