Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Pegasus (Peg)
CTA-102 Quasar, 



    
        

            Bob Hufnagel
CTA-102 Quasar
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CTA-102 Quasar

CTA-102 Quasar, 



    
        

            Bob Hufnagel
CTA-102 Quasar
Powered byPixInsight

CTA-102 Quasar

Acquisition details

Dates:
Dec. 3, 2016
Frames:
50×60(50′)
Integration:
50′
Darks:
10
Avg. Moon age:
3.63 days
Avg. Moon phase:
14.16%
Temperature:
5.00

Basic astrometry details

Astrometry.net job: 1362665

RA center: 22h32m18s.10

DEC center: +11°4619

Pixel scale: 0.332 arcsec/pixel

Orientation: -98.864 degrees

Field radius: 0.171 degrees

Resolution: 1824x1375

File size: 361.9 KB

Locations: Backyard Observatory in Skyshed Pod, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

Description

CTA-102 is an active quasar, which is a supermassive black hole at the center of a remote galaxy. The brightness goes up when the black hole is eating a hearty meal of stars and gas. What is interesting about this quasar is that it is an astounding 8 billion light years away from us. In other words, the light left CTA-102 well before our galaxy existed. This is probably the most distant object most amateur astronomers will ever see through their own equipment. There are only a few others that are that bright, but closer, or that far away and dimmer.

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CTA-102 Quasar, 



    
        

            Bob Hufnagel