Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Coma Berenices (Com)  ·  Contains:  IC 3946  ·  IC 3947  ·  IC 3949  ·  IC 3955  ·  IC 3957  ·  IC 3959  ·  IC 3960  ·  IC 3963  ·  IC 3968  ·  IC 3973  ·  IC 3976  ·  IC 3998  ·  IC 4012  ·  IC 4026  ·  IC 4030  ·  IC 4033  ·  NGC 4864  ·  NGC 4865  ·  NGC 4867  ·  NGC 4869  ·  NGC 4871  ·  NGC 4872  ·  NGC 4873  ·  NGC 4874  ·  NGC 4875  ·  NGC 4876  ·  NGC 4883  ·  NGC 4886  ·  NGC 4889  ·  NGC 4894  ·  And 1 more.
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Quasar QSO [HB89] 1256+280, Jeff Weiss
Quasar QSO [HB89] 1256+280
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Quasar QSO [HB89] 1256+280

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Quasar QSO [HB89] 1256+280, Jeff Weiss
Quasar QSO [HB89] 1256+280
Powered byPixInsight

Quasar QSO [HB89] 1256+280

Equipment

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Acquisition details

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Description

Crop of Abell 1656 galaxy cluster image from four years ago (see link above) showing here the small point target which is quasar QSO [HB89] 1256+280. The crop is near the central region of Abell 1656 which is dominated by two giant ellipticals, NGC 4874 and NGC 4889 that also dominate this crop. The quasar is 21.0 mag with a red shift of 2.66, which puts it at a distance between 10.3 and 12.3 billion light years, call it 11.3 ± 1.0 billion light years. Definitely a personal record, as the ~1000 galaxies in Abell 1656 (PI Image Solver finds 450 of them in the original image at the link) are all at roughly 320 million light years (my previous personal record).

Quasars are active galactic nuclei of very high luminosity, consisting of a supermassive black hole surrounded by an orbiting accretion disk of gas. As gas in the accretion disk falls toward the black hole, energy is released in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The peak epoch of quasar activity in the Universe corresponds to redshifts around 2, or approximately 10 billion years ago, so this quasar is from the peak quasar epoch.

4.2 hr LRGB. Equipment/Acquisition details for the original image at the link.

D.A.R.C. Observatory, Mercey Hot Springs , CA. May-June 2014.

Comments

Revisions

  • Quasar QSO [HB89] 1256+280, Jeff Weiss
    Original
  • Quasar QSO [HB89] 1256+280, Jeff Weiss
    D
  • Final
    Quasar QSO [HB89] 1256+280, Jeff Weiss
    G

Sky plot

Sky plot

Histogram

Quasar QSO [HB89] 1256+280, Jeff Weiss