One of the most remote objects visible in a
small telescope. This quasar's spectral red shift shows that it is
receding from us at a speed of about 30,000 miles per second, and
lies at a distance of 3 billion ligfht years. It appears to us as a 12th
magnitude star, which is about 300x brighter than any galaxy would
appear at that distance. It therefore represents a highly energetic
source, which is now presumed to originate from the gravitational collapse
of a billion solar mass gas cloud into a black hole. Although first
identified as a radio source, visually it appears as a 13th magnitude star
with a nebulous streak or jet of about 10" length on the south west
side. I had hoped to record this feature with a 400 sec exposure, but it
proved elusive and did not show on this image.
3C 273 can be found at RA 12h 26min 6sec and Dec +02deg 19min and it is about 3.5 deg from Eta Virginis. Best viewed in the spring (Northern hemisphere).