Quasar S5 0014+81 (Stephen Biggs)

Quasar S5 0014+81

When doing astrophotography, sometimes the visual aspect of an image takes a back seat to what the image represents, like capturing the diminutive Crab Pulsar. S5 0014+81 in Cepheus is another case in point. This tiny dot circled in the inverted images is the furthest object I've ever captured. It is a Quasar or active galactic nucleus 12.1 billion light years away. The Universe was only 1 1/2 billion years old when the light from this object started its journey to my telescope. The light is produced by a supermassive blackhole at the centre of a galaxy consuming the equivalent of 4000 solar masses a year. So much mass is being converted to energy as it gets pulled into the blackhole it creates a super luminous object which we call a Quasar. In this case the object is 25000 times brighter than all the stars in the milky way combined. If S5 0014+81 were only 280 light years away it would shine as bright as the sun. The stars HD 1416 and HD 1165 are labelled for reference and to help locate the Quasar in the field of view.

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	Distinct awarded users	Total awarded images
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This table shows the distribution of awards per subject type, compared to the popularity of images of that subject type.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Deep sky
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	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Backyard
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Amateur hosting facility
Public amaeteur data
Professional, scientific grade data
Mix of multiple sources
Other
Unknown

The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

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Status	Basic failed
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	9222689
PixInsight job	n/a
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	n/a

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Quasar S5 0014+81

Quasar S5 0014+81

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