This is an image of the Double or Twin Quasar Q0957+561, a
gravitationally-lensed quasar in Ursa Major.
Close to the nearly edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 3079 is a quasar that has had it's light split by the gravitational lensing of the massive elliptical galaxy YGKOW G1. This galaxy is 4 billion lightyears distant and not visible in the image - yet the quasar is, though approx 9 billion lightyears away.
The two quasar components are around magnitude 16, while the faintest identifiable objects in the image are just below mag 19. The two quasar components are only 6 arcseconds apart.
This was the first instance of this type of object, discovered in 1979.
This image is the result of 1h of data capture, on an evening in March 2020.
ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera through a Teleskop-Service 8-inch Ritchey-Chretien reflector.
Date: 31/03/2020
Photographer: Graham Wilcock
