A quasar is a supermassive black hole surrounded by an
accretion disk. An accretion disk is a flat, disk-like structure of gas
that spirals around a black hole, a new
star, a white dwarf, etc. A quasar attracts this gas and
sometimes other stars or small galaxies with their superstrong
gravity, sucking them into the black hole. When a galaxy,
star or gas is absorbed into a quasar, a
massive collision of matter occurs that causes an explosive output of
radiation energy and light. This great burst of energy results in a
flare, a distinct characteristic of quasars. Because of these collisions, quasars are believed to be the brightest objects in the universe.
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| The jet of light being emitted by the quasar is the flare. |
