ALMA peers inside the brightest known quasar

Artist's impression of W2246-0526, a galaxy shining in infrared with the luminosity of 350 trillion suns. (credit: ESO)

Brightness can mean different things. A nearby candle is brighter than an identical one in the distance. To avoid confusion, astronomers use the word "luminosity" rather than brightness to indicate the total amount of light that an object puts out. By that measure, W2246-0526 is the brightest-the most luminous-galaxy in the observable Universe.

A group of researchers has now taken advantage of the abilities of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) to take a look inside W2246-0526 and see what's going on there.

The cause of the brightness is not mysterious. The galaxy's incredibly bright core, which outshines the rest of its stars by a factor of over 100, is home to a very active supermassive black hole (SMBH). While nearly every galaxy houses a SMBH, only the most active ones earn the title of quasar. ("Active" in this context means that the black hole is rapidly consuming a lot of matter, producing its incredible light output through friction as it does.)

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