What term describes a distant galaxy that contains a black hole at its center?

Prepare for the GACE Middle Grades Science Test. Use flashcards and multiple choice questions with hints and explanations. Ace your exam!

A quasar is a highly luminous object found in the centers of some distant galaxies, powered by supermassive black holes. These black holes are surrounded by an accretion disk of gas and dust, which spirals in and heats up due to friction, emitting enormous amounts of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum. This energy can make quasars some of the brightest objects in the universe, often outshining the galaxies that contain them.

In contrast to quasars, the other options refer to different astronomical phenomena. A supernova is an explosive event marking the death of a star, not necessarily linked to a black hole in a galaxy. A galaxy cluster is a large structure that consists of several galaxies bound together by gravity, rather than a description of an individual galaxy that hosts a black hole. An elliptical galaxy is a type of galaxy characterized by an ellipsoidal shape and older stars but doesn’t specifically indicate the presence of a black hole. Thus, the term "quasar" aptly describes the distant galaxy with a central black hole.

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