Faculty members and students at the University of Florida are contributing efforts to understand what are perhaps the most enigmatic objects in the Universe -- the remote quasars and related active galaxies. The ultimate objective is to comprehend the process that allows a quasar, within a volume comparable to that of our tiny Solar System, to generate 100 times the energy of a huge galaxy such as the Milky Way. Solution of this mystery undoubtedly will contribute greatly to our understanding of the development of the galaxies themselves. Because the study of variability has long been recognized as a powerful tool in attacking astrophysical problems, we regularly follow the unpredictable changes in brightness of over 220 quasars and active galaxies, using the 76-cm telescope of the University's Rosemary Hill Observatory. Much of our work is carried on in collaboration with other observatories and with scientists using spacecraft such as the International Ultraviolet Explorer and the Japanese x-ray satellite GINGA. Future collaborations involve experiments to be carried by the Space Shuttle. Photographic research initiated to support the quasar observations has resulted in innovative methods of increasing photographic sensitivity that have been adopted world-wide; as an illustration of "spin-off" from basic research, these methods are now being employed in biomedical radiography and in industrial and biomedical microscopy. A new CCD camera will be built and used for observations.
