Refer to this scenario for the following questions:
Lost in Spacetime.Just when you thought it was safe to take final exams ...a vindictive multi-dimensional being reaches down (up? over? through?)to Earth and pulls you out of the universe.You are thrown back into the universe at a place of this being's choosing,and she permits you to leave only after you have identified your surroundings.You are subject to several tests.
Through a scientifically unexplainable miracle,you are able to survive in every one of the places you are tested.(Lest you become too comfortable,however,you certainly are able to feel any associated pain due to high temperature,pressure,gravity,etc. )In each case described below,identify your surroundings.In some cases,the surroundings described may exist only during eras of the universe (past or future)other than our own time;in those cases,you should identify both the place and the time where you are located.
-It sure is bright everywhere;you've been able to travel around a bit,and it's clear that you are not in a star.Yet it is as bright as looking directly at the Sun.In your extensive travels through your current surroundings,you cannot find a single neutral atom anywhere,nor can you find a nucleus besides hydrogen or helium.And,while it is hot (a few thousand degrees Kelvin),it is nowhere near the temperature needed for nuclear fusion.Where are you?
A)You are in the universe during its first 300,000 years.
B)You are in the universe more than 10¹⁰⁰ years in the future.
C)You are in an accretion disk around a supermassive black hole.
D)You are in the central regions of a quasar.
E)You are where the Sun should be located,but about 5 billion years from now.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The lack of neutral atoms and the presence of only hydrogen and helium nuclei suggest that this is the time when the universe was still filled with a hot, dense plasma of those two elements that had not yet cooled and combined to form neutral atoms.

Answer: D 
 Quasars are incredibly bright and energetic objects powered by the accretion of material onto supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. Their intense radiation can ionize and heat surrounding gas, creating a plasma that is hot (a few million degrees Kelvin) but still lacks the conditions for nuclear fusion.

Answer: E 
 This scenario describes the future location of the Sun, several billion years from now when it will have exhausted its supply of nuclear fuel and transitioned into a red giant phase. The extreme heat but lack of nuclear fusion is again consistent with this stage of stellar evolution.

Refer to This Scenario for the Following Questions