| Twin Quasar |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT TWIN QUASAR | |
| ursa major constellation | |
| gravitationally lensed quasars | |
| hypothetical extrasolar planets | |
| gravitational lensing | |
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The Twin Quasar (Double Quasar) or ''Old Faithful'' is also known as '''''Q0957+561''''', or '''QSO 0957+561'''. It was the first identified gravitationally lensed object. Q0957+561 A (QSO 0957+561 A) and '''Q-0957+561 B''' (QSO 0957+561 B) is a double-imaged quasar, meaning that an intervening mass concentration between Earth and the Quasar bends light so that two images of the quasar appear in the sky. This is known as Gravitational Lensing , and is a consequence of Einsteinian warped Space-time . The quasar lies at Redshift ''z'' = 1.41, while the lensing galaxy lies at redshift ''z'' = 0.355 (7.8 billion Ly ). The lensing galaxy lines almost in line with the B image, lying 1" off. The quasar lies 10" north of NGC 3079 , in the Constellation Ursa Major . The Twin Quasar's two images are separated by 6". Both images have an Apparent Magnitude of 17, with the A component having 16.7 and the B component having 16.5 . There is a 1.4 year time lag between the two images. The lensing galaxy, G1, is a giant Elliptical (type cD) lying within a cluster of galaxies that also contribute to the lensing. A microlensing event in 1996 observed by R. E. Schild in the A lobe has led to a controversial, and unconfirmable theory that there is a planet approximately three Earth masses in size in the lensing galaxy. The speculation cannot be confirmed because the chance alignment that led to its discovery will never happen again. If it could be confirmed, however, it would make it the most distant known planet. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINK
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