Markarian 421
Encyclopedia
Markarian 421 is a blazar
located in the constellation
Ursa Major
. The object is an active galaxy and a BL Lacertae object, and is a strong source of gamma rays. It is about 397 million light-year
s (redshift: z=0.0308 eq. 122Mpc
) to 434 million light-years (133Mpc) from the Earth. It is one of the closest blazars to Earth
, making it one of the brightest quasars in the night sky
. It is suspected to have a supermassive black hole
(SMBH) at its center due to its active nature, and has a companion galaxy (Markarian 421-5) that is fueling the gas jets observed pointing away from the galaxy.
Markarian 421 outburst in 2001 and is monitored by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope
project. Due to its brightness (around 13.3 magnitude, max. 11.6mag. and min. 16mag.) the object can also be viewed by amateurs in smaller telescopes.
Blazar
A blazar is a very compact quasar associated with a presumed supermassive black hole at the center of an active, giant elliptical galaxy...
located in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Ursa Major
Ursa Major
Ursa Major , also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. It can best be seen in April...
. The object is an active galaxy and a BL Lacertae object, and is a strong source of gamma rays. It is about 397 million light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s (redshift: z=0.0308 eq. 122Mpc
Parsec
The parsec is a unit of length used in astronomy. It is about 3.26 light-years, or just under 31 trillion kilometres ....
) to 434 million light-years (133Mpc) from the Earth. It is one of the closest blazars to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, making it one of the brightest quasars in the night sky
Night sky
The term night sky refers to the sky as seen at night. The term is usually associated with astronomy, with reference to views of celestial bodies such as stars, the Moon, and planets that become visible on a clear night after the Sun has set. Natural light sources in a night sky include moonlight,...
. It is suspected to have a supermassive black hole
Supermassive black hole
A supermassive black hole is the largest type of black hole in a galaxy, in the order of hundreds of thousands to billions of solar masses. Most, and possibly all galaxies, including the Milky Way, are believed to contain supermassive black holes at their centers.Supermassive black holes have...
(SMBH) at its center due to its active nature, and has a companion galaxy (Markarian 421-5) that is fueling the gas jets observed pointing away from the galaxy.
Markarian 421 outburst in 2001 and is monitored by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope
Whole Earth Blazar Telescope
The Whole Earth Blazar Telescope is an international consortium of astronomers created in 1997, with the aim to study a particular category of Active Galactic Nuclei called blazars, which are characterized by strong and fast brightness variability, on time scales down to hours or less.This...
project. Due to its brightness (around 13.3 magnitude, max. 11.6mag. and min. 16mag.) the object can also be viewed by amateurs in smaller telescopes.