3C 273

Quasar
name = 3C 273


caption=Quasar 3C 273, with its jet
epoch = J2000
ra = RA|12|29|06.7cite web
title=NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database
work=Results for 3C 273
url=http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/
accessdate=2006-10-26 ]
dec = DEC|+02|03|09
constellation name = Virgo
z = 0.158339 ± 0.000067
type = Blazar; Sy1
dist_ly = 2.44 Gly (749 Mpc)
appmag_v = 12.9
size_v =
notes = First quasar discovered
names = PGC 41121

3C 273 is a quasar located in the constellation Virgo.

It is the optically-brightest quasar in our sky (m ~ 12.9), and one of the closest with a redshift, "z", of 0.158.cite journal
author=Schmidt, M.
title=3C 273: a star-like object with large red-shift.
journal=Nature
year=1963
volume=197
pages=1040–1040
url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1963Natur.197.1040S
doi=10.1038/1971040a0] A luminosity distance of D_L = 2.44 Giga light years (749 Mpc) may be calculated from "z".cite journal
author=Uchiyama, Yasunobu; Urry, C. Megan; Cheung, C. C.; Jester, Sebastian; Van Duyne, Jeffrey; Coppi, Paolo; Sambruna, Rita M.; Takahashi, Tadayuki; Tavecchio, Fabrizio; Maraschi, Laura
title=Shedding New Light on the 3C 273 Jet with the Spitzer Space Telescope
journal=The Astrophysical Journal
year=2006
volume=648
issue=2
pages=910–921
url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2006ApJ...648..910U
doi=10.1086/505964] It is also one of the most luminous quasars known, with an absolute magnitude of -26.7. Its mass has been measured to be 886 ± 187 million solar masses through broad emission-line reverberation mapping.cite journal
author=Peterson, B. M.; Ferrarese, L.; Gilbert, K. M.; Kaspi, S.; Malkan, M. A.; Maoz,D. ; Merritt, D.; Netzer, H.; Onken, C. A.; Pogge, R. W.; Vestergaard, M.; Wandel, A.
title=Central Masses of AGNs. II.
journal=The Astrophysical Journal
year=2004
volume=613
pages=682–699
url=
doi=10.1086/423269]

Large-Scale Jet

The quasar has a large-scale visible jet, which measures ~200 kly (~62 kpc) long having an apparent size of 23″.In 1995 Optical imaging of the jet using the HST revealed a structured morphology evidenced by repeated bright knots interlaced by areas of weak emission.

History

The name signifies that it was the 273rd object (ordered by right ascension) of the Third Cambridge Catalog of Radio Sources (3C), published in 1959. After accurate positions were obtained using lunar occultation by Cyril Hazard at the Parkes Radio Telescope,cite journal
author=Hazard, C.; Mackey, M. B.; Shimmins, A. J.
title=Investigation of the Radio Source 3C273 by the method of Lunar Occultations
journal=Nature
year=1963
volume=197
pages=1037
url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1963Natur.197.1037H
doi=10.1038/1971037a0] the radio source was quickly associated with an optical counterpart, an unresolved "stellar object". In 1963, Maarten Schmidt and Bev Oke published a pair of papers in "Nature" reporting that 3C 273 has a substantial redshift, placing it several billion light-years away.

Prior to the discovery of 3C 273, several other radio sources had been associated with optical counterparts, the first being 3C 48. Also, many active galaxies had been misidentified as
variable stars, including the famous BL Lac, W Com, and AU CVn. However, it wasn't understood what these objects were, since their spectra were unlike those of any known stars. 3C 273 was the first object to be identified as what we now know quasars to be — extremely luminous objects at cosmological distances.

3C 273 is a radio-loud quasar, and was also one of the first extragalactic X-ray sources discovered in 1970.However, even to this day, the process which gives rise to the X-ray emissions is controversial.The luminosity is variable at nearly every wavelength from radio waves to Gamma rays on timescales of a few days to decades.
Polarization with coincident orientation has been observed in radio, infrared, and optical light being emitted from the large-scale jet; these emissions are therefore almost certainly synchrotron in nature, radiation that is created by a jet of charged particles moving at relativistic speeds.Such jets are believed to be created by the interaction of the central black hole and the accretion disk. VLBI radio observations of 3C 273 have revealed proper motion of some of the radio emitting regions, further suggesting the presence of relativistic jets of material.

3C 273 is visible in May in both the northern hemisphere and southern hemispheres. It is bright enough to be observed with larger amateur telescopes.

Trivia

* 'To the quasar', a song by Dutch project-band Ayreon is about quasar 3C 273. The song is found on the album ".
* Given its distance from Earth and visual magnitude, 3C 273 is the most distant celestial object average amateur astronomers are likely to see through their telescopes.

External links

* [http://isdc.unige.ch/3c273/ 3C 273's Database at the INTEGRAL Science Data Centre (ESA)]
* [http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-QSO-3C273.htm Detailed CCD image of 3C 273 based on 30 min total exposure]
* [http://astro.neutral.org/imagehtml/20050408_3c273.html Amateur 3C 273 Redshift Measurement]
* [http://www.nightskyinfo.com/archive/3c273_quasar NightSkyInfo.com - 3C 273]
* [http://www.spacetelescope.org/bin/images.pl?searchtype=freesearch&string=3C+273 3C 273 at ESA/Hubble]
* [http://www.sky-map.org/?object=3C%20273&zoom=12&img_source=SDSS SKY-MAP.ORG SDSS image of 3C 273]
*

References