S5 0014+81

S5 0014+81 is a very faraway and bright object in space. It is called a quasar or blazar, which are some of the brightest things we can see in the universe. This special object is found in the area of the sky near a constellation called Cepheus, close to a point called the North Equatorial Pole. Scientists study objects like S5 0014+81 to learn more about the early universe and how big, bright objects form and change over time.

Characteristics

S5 0014+81 is a very bright type of object in space called an OVV (optically violent variable) quasar, which is a kind of blazar. It is one of the most powerful objects known, created when a giant supermassive black hole at its center pulls in lots of matter and turns that energy into bright light.

This quasar shines extremely brightly, with a total light output of over 10⁴¹ watts. It is so powerful that if it were closer to Earth, it would shine as brightly as the Sun, even though it would still be very far away. Because it is very far from us—about 12.1 billion light-years—we can only study it using special tools called spectroscopy. It releases energy in many forms, from gamma rays and X-rays to radio waves.

Supermassive black hole

The host galaxy of S5 0014+81 contains a giant elliptical galaxy with a supermassive black hole at its center. This black hole sends out a fast-moving jet toward Earth.

In 2009, scientists used a spacecraft to measure the black hole's mass. They found it to be about 10,000 times more massive than the black hole at the center of our galaxy, equal to 40 billion times the mass of the Sun. This makes it one of the largest black holes ever found. Its size is amazing, existing just 1.6 billion years after the beginning of the universe.