Are Quasars Still Present in Our Universe?

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Quasars are believed to still exist in the universe, but they are not found locally, with the nearest being about 780 million light years away. They are powered by gas and dust falling into massive black holes, and once these materials are depleted, quasars cease to exist and become normal galaxies. Current models suggest that quasar populations increase with redshift, indicating they were more common in the early universe. The energetic nature of quasars requires abundant fuel supplies, which are not present in nearby galaxies. Thus, while quasars may still exist, they are not observable in our immediate cosmic neighborhood.
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Do any quasars presently exist in our universe? Or are all the quasars gone?
 
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All astronomical objects are seen as they were some time in the past. The nearest quasars are about 780 million light years away. It probably still exists now, but you can't be sure. Wikipedia has a good article on the subject.
 
Richard87 said:
Do any quasars presently exist in our universe? Or are all the quasars gone?

Probably not. The current model for quasars is that they are powered by large amounts of gas and dust falling into a massive black hole. Once the black hole has cleaned out off all of the gas and dust, then you have no more quasars, and the former-quasar turns into a run of the mill normal looking galaxy.
 
Probably not. Quasar populations ramp up with redshift and none are known to exist locally. Hugely energetic source require hugely abundant fuel supplies. Ack, I just noticed twofish said the same thing.
 

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