1004X EX-VIEW LONG EXPOSURE ASTRO CAMERA

THE DOUBLE QUASAR Q0957_0561A/B

27th March 2003

 

VC200L @ F6.3 53 x 30sec

 

These two QSO spaced 6 arcsec apart are in fact double images of the same object caused by the gravitational lensing effect of an intervening group of galaxies. The QSO are 9 billion light yrs distant and the galaxies (too faint to be seen in this image) are 3.5 billion light yrs away. Gravitational lensing was predicted by general relativity and this was the first such example to be discovered in 1979. More about this fascinating object here http://www.astr.ua.edu/keel/agn/q0957.html

 

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