First binary quasar found
Double quasar as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope
Using a suite of telescopes on the ground and in orbit, astronomers have found the first galaxy made up of two quasars, supermassive black holes that are very active in eating material from around them.
ESA’s (European Space Agency) Gaia space observatory first detected the unresolved double quasar, capturing images that indicate two closely aligned beacons of light in the young universe. Chen and his team then used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to verify the points of light were in fact coming from a pair of supermassive black holes.
Multi-wavelength observations followed; using Keck Observatory’s second generation Near-Infrared Camera (NIRC2) paired with its adaptive optics system, as well as Gemini North, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Very Large Array network of radio telescopes in New Mexico, the researchers confirmed the double quasar was not two images of the same quasar created by gravitational lensing.
The two quasars are estimated to be only about 10,000 light years apart. Scientists estimate that this galaxy is about ten billion light years away, and exists in this state only about three billion years after the Big Bang.
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Double quasar as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope
Using a suite of telescopes on the ground and in orbit, astronomers have found the first galaxy made up of two quasars, supermassive black holes that are very active in eating material from around them.
ESA’s (European Space Agency) Gaia space observatory first detected the unresolved double quasar, capturing images that indicate two closely aligned beacons of light in the young universe. Chen and his team then used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to verify the points of light were in fact coming from a pair of supermassive black holes.
Multi-wavelength observations followed; using Keck Observatory’s second generation Near-Infrared Camera (NIRC2) paired with its adaptive optics system, as well as Gemini North, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Very Large Array network of radio telescopes in New Mexico, the researchers confirmed the double quasar was not two images of the same quasar created by gravitational lensing.
The two quasars are estimated to be only about 10,000 light years apart. Scientists estimate that this galaxy is about ten billion light years away, and exists in this state only about three billion years after the Big Bang.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
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