It is believed​—and remember that this is largely speculation—​that when a very large star “burns out,” its inner atoms collapse under tremendous weight, resulting in a dense object. Yet, so the theory goes, it retains a strong gravitational field; no light can escape. It is theorized that matter from companion stars is absorbed into this “black hole.” Does this matter then go ‘someplace else,’ into a system of antimatter, scientists ask? Even the question seems mysterious. And men have no answer.

Are “new laws of physics” really needed to answer the questions raised in the last few years? Some say so. But D. W. Sciama of Oxford says that a new discovery usually does not call for a “new law” but “usually shows that we have failed to work out some of the consequences of the laws already known. The unexpected discovery of radio galaxies, and of the quasi-stellar objects . . . are probably examples of such failures. As such they are dramatic reminders of the enormous gaps in our understanding of the behaviour of matter in bulk [such as stars, galaxies, and similar heavenly matter].”​—Modern Cosmology, 1971.

Then, too, there is quasar speed. All galaxies are believed to be rushing away from one another at fantastic speeds. But some quasars are thought to be moving away at even greater speeds. They are usually considered to be the farthest material thing from the earth, maybe even twelve billion light-years away. How are such estimates made?

On the basis of what is called “red shift.” Light appears to travel in a wave-like pattern. As it passes through a prism, longer waves produce a deep-red color; the shorter ones are bluish. The process of “red shift” maybe illustrated with a train whistle. As a train approaches you (causing the sound waves to shorten), the whistle’s pitch seems to rise. However, after passing (and as the sound waves lengthen), the pitch drops. Light waves behave in a similar way. According to the “red shift” rule, objects leaving the earth have a longer wave length and so produce an increased amount of red shift. On this basis, quasars are thought to be the most distant objects in the universe. But there is still more to the quasar mystery.

To some experts, they imply contradictions to Einstein’s theory, on which most views of the universe are based. His theory says that nothing in the universe can travel faster than the speed of light. Yet some scientists claim to have found that parts of one quasar are traveling away from each other at ten times the speed of light!

Rather than say that Einstein is wrong, many now argue that it is the red-shift rule that is in error. One argument says that quasars are really closer than they appear and that their red shift results from ‘spectral tricks.’ Another claims that the weight of quasar material has changed through millions of years, giving a misleading red-shift impression. Nevertheless, a few astronomers are willing to accept the possibility that Einstein’s theory, if not wrong, is incomplete.