Quasi-Stellar Objects (QSO) is class of objects beyond our Milky Way Galaxy that have a starlike visual appearance except that the optical spectrum has a large redshift. Quasars (quasi-stellar radio sources) are strong radio sources that are starlike. A QSO may have a strong radio source or may not have a strong radio source.

A QSO optical appearance in an image looks like other dim stars except the QSO optical spectrum is different than a dim star.

Links: Wikipedia Quasar, List of quasars and Active galactic nucleus

This image shows the spectra of four quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), along with an example of what the spectrum might look like for a typical QSO if it were not moving away from us. The upper spectrum, designated "Rest" Frame, shows the spectrum of a QSO moving at zero velocity with respect to the Earth. Four additional QSO spectra with increasing "redshift", or recession velocity, are shown as they appear to observers on Earth. The spectral lines are shifted more and more toward the red as the redshift increases

Above Text and Image credit for this section: C. Pilachowski, M. Corbin /NOAO/AURA/NSF, National Optical Astronomy Observatory/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy/National Science Foundation (NOAO/AURA/NSF)

Links

• Redshift by Cosmic Classroom
• Wikipedia Red shift
• Astronomical Redshift by Mike Luciuk
• Doppler Shift, Red and blue shifts by Edward L. Wright.

David Haworth QSO Images

• QSOs and Twin Quasar Q0957+561 Near NGC3079 Galaxy
• QSOs Near NGC253 Sculptor Galaxy with QSO redshits up to 4.149044

© 1998-2009 David Haworth