Twin Quasars Tango And It's No Mirage

Chandra_116_1024

chandra_116 March 13th, 2002

Credit: NASA/SAO/CXC/P.Green et al.

Chandra's image of the supposed twin quasars Q2345+007 A,B shows that they are not identical twins. Further, the X-ray spectra of the two quasars are different which lends support to the idea that they are distinct objects created by merging galaxies. When galaxies collide, the flow of gas onto the central supermassive black holes of each of the galaxies can be enhanced, resulting in two quasars. Quasar pairs that appear close to one another on the sky and are at the same distance from Earth often turn out to be an illusion due to a gravitationally lensed system. Q2345+007 A,B was thought to be such an illusion because of remarkably similar patterns of their optical and ultraviolet light. However no intervening galaxy or cluster that could be the gravitational lens has been found for this pair.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2002/1273/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Quasar Pair Q2345+007 A B
Subject - Distant Universe
Galaxy > Activity > AGN > Quasar

Distance

Universescale3
11,000,000,000 light years

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 23h 48m 21.2s
DEC = 0° 56’ 20.6”
Constellation
Pisces

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) -
Green Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) -
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) -
Spectrum_xray1w
Chandra_116_1280
×
ID
116
Subject Category
D.5.3.2.1  
Subject Name
Quasar Pair Q2345+007 A, B
Credits
NASA/SAO/CXC/P.Green et al.
Release Date
2002-03-13
Lightyears
11,000,000,000
Redshift
2.15
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2002/1273/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, Chandra, Chandra
Instrument
ACIS, ACIS, ACIS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue
Band
X-ray, X-ray, X-ray
Bandpass
X-ray, X-ray, X-ray
Central Wavelength
-, -, -
Start Time
2000-05-26T18:12:37, 2000-05-26T18:12:37, 2000-05-26T18:12:37
Integration Time
75150, 75150, 75150
Dataset ID
861, 861, 861
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
357.0884976, 0.9390532
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Position
FITS Header
Notes
WCS retrieved using CXCs PinpointWCS
Creator (Curator)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu
Name
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Email
cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu
Telephone
617.496.7941
Address
60 Garden St.
City
Cambridge
State/Province
MA
Postal Code
02138
Country
USA
Rights
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
Publisher
Chandra X-Ray Center
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
1273_xray.tif
Metadata Date
2012-07-30T11:37:12-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
11,000,000,000 light years

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