Quasi-Stellar Objects

E900473

active galactic nucleus astronomical object extragalactic object

Quasi-Stellar Objects, commonly known as quasars, are extremely luminous and distant active galactic nuclei powered by supermassive black holes accreting matter at the centers of young galaxies.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
quasars	2
Quasi-Stellar Objects canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T11024709 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Quasi-Stellar Objects
Context triple: [Geoffrey Burbidge, publication, Quasi-Stellar Objects]

A. Herbig–Haro objects
Herbig–Haro objects are small, bright patches of nebulosity formed when jets of gas from newborn stars collide with surrounding interstellar material.
B. Quasar
Quasar is a consumer electronics brand originally known for televisions and home appliances, historically associated with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (now Panasonic).
C. Cepheid variables
Cepheid variables are pulsating stars whose regular brightness variations make them crucial standard candles for measuring cosmic distances and mapping galactic structure.
D. The Stars of High Luminosity
The Stars of High Luminosity is a seminal astrophysics monograph by Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin that systematically analyzes and classifies very bright stars, helping to shape modern stellar astrophysics.
E. Wolf–Rayet stars
Wolf–Rayet stars are extremely hot, massive, and luminous evolved stars characterized by powerful stellar winds and strong emission lines from heavy elements in their spectra.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Quasi-Stellar Objects
Target entity description: Quasi-Stellar Objects, commonly known as quasars, are extremely luminous and distant active galactic nuclei powered by supermassive black holes accreting matter at the centers of young galaxies.

A. Herbig–Haro objects
Herbig–Haro objects are small, bright patches of nebulosity formed when jets of gas from newborn stars collide with surrounding interstellar material.
B. Quasar
Quasar is a consumer electronics brand originally known for televisions and home appliances, historically associated with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (now Panasonic).
C. Cepheid variables
Cepheid variables are pulsating stars whose regular brightness variations make them crucial standard candles for measuring cosmic distances and mapping galactic structure.
D. The Stars of High Luminosity
The Stars of High Luminosity is a seminal astrophysics monograph by Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin that systematically analyzes and classifies very bright stars, helping to shape modern stellar astrophysics.
E. Wolf–Rayet stars
Wolf–Rayet stars are extremely hot, massive, and luminous evolved stars characterized by powerful stellar winds and strong emission lines from heavy elements in their spectra.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	active galactic nucleus ⓘ astronomical object ⓘ extragalactic object ⓘ
affects	evolution of host galaxy ⓘ intergalactic medium through ionization ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	QSO ⓘ quasar ⓘ
classification	X-ray selected quasar ⓘ optically selected quasar ⓘ radio-loud quasar ⓘ radio-quiet quasar ⓘ
cosmologicalUse	probe of the early universe ⓘ standardizable candle for cosmology (with caveats) ⓘ tracer of large-scale structure ⓘ
discoveredBy	Maarten Schmidt ⓘ
drives	powerful relativistic jets (in many cases) ⓘ strong outflows and winds ⓘ
emits	X-rays ⓘ electromagnetic radiation across the spectrum ⓘ gamma rays ⓘ optical light ⓘ radio waves ⓘ ultraviolet radiation ⓘ
environment	center of an active galaxy ⓘ
firstSpectroscopicIdentificationYear	1963 ⓘ
hasProperty	compact appearance ⓘ extremely luminous ⓘ high redshift ⓘ strong emission lines ⓘ variability in brightness ⓘ very distant ⓘ
locatedIn	center of a galaxy ⓘ
luminosityRange	up to 1000 times the luminosity of a large galaxy ⓘ
observedWith	X-ray observatories ⓘ optical telescopes ⓘ radio telescopes ⓘ
originallyClassifiedAs	radio source with star-like optical counterpart ⓘ
poweredBy	accretion of matter onto a supermassive black hole ⓘ supermassive black hole ⓘ
redshiftRange	up to about 7.5 and higher ⓘ
spectralFeature	broad emission lines ⓘ continuum dominated by accretion disk emission ⓘ narrow emission lines ⓘ
timeVariability	variability on timescales from days to years ⓘ
typicalBlackHoleMass	billions of solar masses ⓘ millions of solar masses ⓘ
typicalHost	young galaxy ⓘ
usedToStudy	cosmic reionization ⓘ growth of supermassive black holes ⓘ intervening absorption systems ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Geoffrey Burbidge → publication → Quasi-Stellar Objects ⓘ

NED → includesDataOn → quasars ⓘ

linked to: Quasi-Stellar Objects

Michael Strauss → researchInterest → quasars ⓘ