Twin Quasar
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| The Twin Quasar Q0957+561 | |
| Observation data (Epoch J2000) | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Right ascension | 10h 01m 20.99s |
| Declination | +55° 53′ 56.5″ |
| Redshift | 1.413 |
| Distance | 7,800,000,000 ly (2,400,000,000 pc) |
| Type | Rad |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 0.42´× 0.22´ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 16.7 |
| Other designations | |
| Twin Quasar, Double Quasar, Twin QSO, QSO 0957+561, Q0957+561, SBS 0957+561, TXS 0957+561, 8C 0958+561, PGC 2518326 | |
| See also: Quasar, List of quasars | |
The Twin Quasar (Twin QSO or Double Quasar or Old Faithful) is also known as SBS 0957+561, or TXS 0957+561 (also Q0957+561 or QSO 0957+561 A/B). It was the first identified gravitationally lensed object.
Contents |
[edit] Quasar
QSO 0957+561 A (SBS 0957+561 A) and QSO 0957+561 B (SBS 0957+561 B) are the two components of a double-imaged quasar, meaning that an intervening mass concentration between Earth and the quasar bends light so that two images of the quasar appear in the sky. This is known as gravitational lensing, and is a consequence of Einsteinian warped space-time. The quasar lies at redshift z = 1.41(8.7 billion ly), while the lensing galaxy lies at redshift z = 0.355 (3.7 billion ly). The lensing galaxy lies almost in line with the B image, lying 1" off. The quasar lies 10" north of NGC 3079, in the constellation Ursa Major. The astronomical data services SIMBAD and NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) list several other names for this system.
The Twin Quasar's two images are separated by 6". Both images have an apparent magnitude of 17, with the A component having 16.7 and the B component having 16.5 . There is a 417 ± 3 day time lag between the two images.[1]
[edit] Lens
The lensing galaxy, YGKOW G1[2] (sometimes called G1 or Q0957+561 G1), is a giant elliptical (type cD) lying within a cluster of galaxies that also contribute to the lensing.
[edit] Suspected planet
A microlensing event in 1996 observed by R. E. Schild in the A lobe has led to a controversial, and unconfirmable theory that there is a planet approximately three Earth masses in size in the lensing galaxy. The speculation cannot be confirmed because the chance alignment that led to its discovery will never happen again. If it could be confirmed, however, it would make it the most distant known planet. [3]
[edit] MECO possibility
R. E. Schild announced findings which suggest that the object at the heart of SBS 0957+561 is not a supermassive black hole, as is believed to be the case for all quasars, but a magnetospheric eternally collapsing object. Schild's team at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics found that the jets originated 8000 AU from the poles of the centre, in a region 1000AU across, and that "this quasar appears to be dynamically dominated by a magnetic field internally anchored to its central, rotating supermassive compact object" (R. E. Schild). The accretion disc ends at 2000AU from the centre, and the inner edge is intensely radiating. There also appears to be a broad conic outflow from the accretion disc. This outflow shines in an Elvis structure (cf. Martin Elvis). [4][5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Citations
- ^ Kundic, T., Turner, E.L., Colley, W.N., Gott, III, R., and Rhoads, J.E., ``A robust determination of the time delay in 0957+561A,B and a measurement of the global value of Hubble's constant, Astrophys. J., 482, 75-82, (1997).
- ^ Nomenclature of Celestial Objects (Result I)
- ^ New Scientist (issue 2037), Do alien worlds throng faraway galaxy? Govert Schilling 06 July 1996
- ^ Mysterious quasar casts doubt on black holes - New Scientist, July 27, 2006.
- ^ Research Sheds New Light On Quasars - SpaceDaily July 26, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Q0957+561: Die historisch erste Linse mit Quasar - The University of Cologne.
- Q0957+561 - CCD Image Based on 45-min total exposure - March/2007.
- Q0957+561 A,B
