Markarian 231 was discovered in 1969 as part of a search of galaxies with strong ultraviolet

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...

 radiation. It is a Type-1 Seyfert galaxy

Seyfert galaxy

Seyfert galaxies are a class of galaxies with nuclei that produce spectral line emission from highly ionized gas, named after Carl Keenan Seyfert, the astronomer who first identified the class in 1943...

. There are clear signs that a powerful quasar

Quasar

A quasi-stellar radio source is a very energetic and distant active galactic nucleus. Quasars are extremely luminous and were first identified as being high redshift sources of electromagnetic energy, including radio waves and visible light, that were point-like, similar to stars, rather than...

 is present in the center of the galaxy. It is located about 600 Million light years

Light Years

Light Years is the seventh studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was released on 25 September 2000 by Parlophone and Mushroom Records. The album's style was indicative of her return to "mainstream pop dance tunes"....

 away from 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...

.

Characteristics

The galaxy

Galaxy

A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...

 is now undergoing an energetic starburst

Starburst

Starburst may refer to:*Starburst region, a generic term to describe a region of space with a much higher than normal star formation*Starburst galaxy*Starburst , the breaking up of a large company...

. A nuclear ring of active star formation has been found in the center with a rate of formation greater than 100 solar masses per year. It is one of the most ultraluminous infrared

Infrared

Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...

 galaxies with power derived from an accreting black hole

Black hole

A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...

in the center.

External links

• Markarian 231 at ESA
• SpaceRef Feb 23, 2011 Quasar's Belch Solves Longstanding Mystery, from Gemini North Observatory, ApJ march 2011, to be published.