blazar

Scientific  

/ blā′zär′ /

1. An extremely bright, starlike object characterized by rapid changes in luminosity and a flat spectrum. Originally thought to be ordinary irregular variable stars, their spectral properties now lead astronomers to consider blazars as a class of active galactic nuclei. Blazars emit radiation over a very wide range of frequencies, from radio to gamma rays, with their jets pointed at the observer. This orientation accounts for their peculiar properties, specifically the variability and intensity of their brightness, and it also distinguishes blazars from another class of active galactic nucleus, quasars.

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Example Sentences

This experiment served as a small-scale simulation of how a blazar's pair cascade moves through intergalactic matter.

From Science Daily

In her own space sciences research at WashU, Gokus focuses on the high-energy emission of active galactic nuclei, in particular blazars.

From Science Daily

They first calculated a weekly average of the gamma-ray flux of the blazars and plotted their light curves.

From Science Daily

These can be quite volatile, such as blazars, which are AGN that shoot out jets of ionized matter traveling at nearly the speed of light.

From Salon

Scientists have long sought to understand how the jets launched from blazars become so luminous and the behavior of the particles in them.

From Reuters