Quasar 3C 273!


One of the most profound images to ever be captured by my camera and telescope. It may be not appear beautiful and full of colours but that object highlighted with a red line is located a whopping ~2.443 Billion Light years away!

“A quasar is believed to be a supermassive black hole surrounded by an accretion disk. An accretion disk is a flat, disk-like structure of gas that rapidly spirals around a larger object, like a black hole, a new star, a white dwarf, etc. A quasar gradually attracts this gas and sometimes other stars or or even small galaxies with their immense gravity. These objects get sucked into the black hole. When a galaxy, star or gas is absorbed into a quasar in such a way, the result is a massive collision of matter that causes a gigantic explosive output of radiation energy and light. This great burst of energy results in a flare, which is a distinct characteristic of quasars.”

Another mind-blowing fact about 3C 273 is that if if it were only as distant as Pollux (A common star located ~33 Light-years from Earth) it would appear nearly as bright in the sky as the Sun. Quasars, truly, are one of the brightest objects in the Universe!


-Quasar in Virgo
~2.443 Billion Light Years from Earth
Redshift: ~0.158


Telescope: Sky-Watcher 8″ f/5 Newtonian Reflector
Mount: Sky-Watcher NEQ6 ( Guided ) Camera: Canon 5D II
Location: Farm near Mandya, Karnataka
Total Exposure time: 45 minutes at ISO 1600


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