Although some 200 quasars (quasi-stellar sources) have been discovered since the first one was identified in 1960, scientists have been unable to agree on the nature, or even the size or distance of the mysterious starlike objects. Quasar controversies have so rocked the once stable world of astronomy that California Institute of Technology Astronomer Jesse Greenstein has been driven to poetic expression:
Horrid quasar Near or far, This truth to you I must confess; My heart for you is full of hate O super star, Imploded gas, Exploded...
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