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
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CTA-102 Quasar

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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