For two decades, scientists suspected that so-called type II quasars existed, and now they have finally spotted one.
Quasars are among the most distant extragalactic objects known.
They appear starlike but emit more energy than 100 giant galaxies and are thus believed to be powered by massive black holes. Like conventional quasars, the type II variety are strong sources of x-rays and other radiation. They are, however, thought to be covered by clouds of gas and dust, making them hard to see in visible light. Scientists believe that the clouds of gas and dust are eventually dispersed by the strong radiation emitted by the maturing quasar. To make their find, Norman and his colleagues from the Space Telescope Science Institute and the European Southern Observatory compared data from optical observations made using the Very Large Telescope in Chile with data from NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory.