Astro: Einstein lensed QSO 0957+561

I'm not sure if these posts are getting through from the new server. My
post of IC 4282 never showed but did show on spacebanter.com. Though
text posts have all come through fine. Trying again.

This one isn't very pretty but, to me, it is pretty interesting. 11
minutes north of NGC 3079 and a bit west is QSO 0957+561 the first
example of the predicted Einstein Gravitational Lens. It was first
recognized in 1979.

The first image is a low resolution shot showing NGC 3079 (part of it)
at the bottom with the QSO in the circle. Second image is a close up of
the lensed QSO taken at 0.5" per pixel rather than my normal 1" per
pixel. They are separated by only 6" of arc. This was taken between
clouds with a half moon due south so it doesn't begin to go as deep as
most of my images. It falls at least 2-3 magnitudes away from my normal
images. Clouds made gathering more data impossible and it's been
overcast ever since, 51 nights and counting. This does show the blue
color of the QSO rather well.

The bottom image is brighter than the top. That's because it is the
combined light of the QSO and the lensing galaxy. They are separated by
only 1" of arc and my seeing was about 2.5" the night I took this so
they merge as one. The Hubble image of this QSO is at:
http://www.astr.ua.edu/keel/agn/q0957.html
Of the stars in the Hubble shot only the one at the bottom just to the
right of the pair is seen without major difficulty in my shot, even then
it is very faint. The star to the right of the upper lensed image is
just barely visible in my shot with a bit of averted imagination.
Normally both would be easy but moonlight and clouds conspired against
me. I'd need 4 times the exposure time I had on a moonless night to
reach my normal limits.

The QSO is listed by NED to be at a distance of 8.852 billion light
years light travel time. It is magnitude 16.7. The spectra of the upper
image of the QSO lags that of the bottom one by 425-430 days +/- 10 days
from the papers I read.

14" LX200R @ f/10, L=4x10' binned 1x1, RGB=1x10' binned 2x2,
STL-11000XM, Paramount ME

Rick

--
Correct domain name is arvig and it is net not com. Prefix is correct.
Third character is a zero rather than a capital "Oh".

On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:08:19 -0500, Rick Johnson wrote:

I'm not sure if these posts are getting through from the new server. My
post of IC 4282 never showed but did show on spacebanter.com. Though
text posts have all come through fine. Trying again.

Ic 4182 or 4282? I see one with IC 4182 in subject dated 6/12/08 at 10:09
that came through just fine.

Geoff wrote:

On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:08:19 -0500, Rick Johnson wrote:


I'm not sure if these posts are getting through from the new server. My
post of IC 4282 never showed but did show on spacebanter.com. Though
text posts have all come through fine. Trying again.


Ic 4182 or 4282? I see one with IC 4182 in subject dated 6/12/08 at 10:09
that came through just fine.

I can't type straight. I meant 4182. My glitch. I only sent it once.
The trying again I meant was the Einstein lens image and then the
Abell cluster. We've been on battery power here for all evening so I'm
trying to type and think fast. I don't do either well any more.

Anyway thanks for letting me know it got through as well as the Einstein
lens post.

Rick
Still without power

--
Correct domain name is arvig and it is net not com. Prefix is correct.
Third character is a zero rather than a capital "Oh".

Cool!

Rick Johnson wrote:
I'm not sure if these posts are getting through from the new server. My
post of IC 4282 never showed but did show on spacebanter.com. Though
text posts have all come through fine. Trying again.

This one isn't very pretty but, to me, it is pretty interesting. 11
minutes north of NGC 3079 and a bit west is QSO 0957+561 the first
example of the predicted Einstein Gravitational Lens. It was first
recognized in 1979.

The first image is a low resolution shot showing NGC 3079 (part of it)
at the bottom with the QSO in the circle. Second image is a close up of
the lensed QSO taken at 0.5" per pixel rather than my normal 1" per
pixel. They are separated by only 6" of arc. This was taken between
clouds with a half moon due south so it doesn't begin to go as deep as
most of my images. It falls at least 2-3 magnitudes away from my normal
images. Clouds made gathering more data impossible and it's been
overcast ever since, 51 nights and counting. This does show the blue
color of the QSO rather well.

The bottom image is brighter than the top. That's because it is the
combined light of the QSO and the lensing galaxy. They are separated by
only 1" of arc and my seeing was about 2.5" the night I took this so
they merge as one. The Hubble image of this QSO is at:
http://www.astr.ua.edu/keel/agn/q0957.html
Of the stars in the Hubble shot only the one at the bottom just to the
right of the pair is seen without major difficulty in my shot, even then
it is very faint. The star to the right of the upper lensed image is
just barely visible in my shot with a bit of averted imagination.
Normally both would be easy but moonlight and clouds conspired against
me. I'd need 4 times the exposure time I had on a moonless night to
reach my normal limits.

The QSO is listed by NED to be at a distance of 8.852 billion light
years light travel time. It is magnitude 16.7. The spectra of the upper
image of the QSO lags that of the bottom one by 425-430 days +/- 10 days
from the papers I read.

14" LX200R @ f/10, L=4x10' binned 1x1, RGB=1x10' binned 2x2,
STL-11000XM, Paramount ME

Rick


------------------------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------------------------------------------------


--
John N. Gretchen III
N5JNG NCS304
http://www.tisd.net/~jng3

Great result Rick. I never managed to image a gravitational lens.

Stefan

"Rick Johnson" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
. com...
I'm not sure if these posts are getting through from the new server. My
post of IC 4282 never showed but did show on spacebanter.com. Though
text posts have all come through fine. Trying again.

This one isn't very pretty but, to me, it is pretty interesting. 11
minutes north of NGC 3079 and a bit west is QSO 0957+561 the first
example of the predicted Einstein Gravitational Lens. It was first
recognized in 1979.

The first image is a low resolution shot showing NGC 3079 (part of it)
at the bottom with the QSO in the circle. Second image is a close up of
the lensed QSO taken at 0.5" per pixel rather than my normal 1" per
pixel. They are separated by only 6" of arc. This was taken between
clouds with a half moon due south so it doesn't begin to go as deep as
most of my images. It falls at least 2-3 magnitudes away from my normal
images. Clouds made gathering more data impossible and it's been
overcast ever since, 51 nights and counting. This does show the blue
color of the QSO rather well.

The bottom image is brighter than the top. That's because it is the
combined light of the QSO and the lensing galaxy. They are separated by
only 1" of arc and my seeing was about 2.5" the night I took this so
they merge as one. The Hubble image of this QSO is at:
http://www.astr.ua.edu/keel/agn/q0957.html
Of the stars in the Hubble shot only the one at the bottom just to the
right of the pair is seen without major difficulty in my shot, even then
it is very faint. The star to the right of the upper lensed image is
just barely visible in my shot with a bit of averted imagination.
Normally both would be easy but moonlight and clouds conspired against
me. I'd need 4 times the exposure time I had on a moonless night to
reach my normal limits.

The QSO is listed by NED to be at a distance of 8.852 billion light
years light travel time. It is magnitude 16.7. The spectra of the upper
image of the QSO lags that of the bottom one by 425-430 days +/- 10 days
from the papers I read.

14" LX200R @ f/10, L=4x10' binned 1x1, RGB=1x10' binned 2x2,
STL-11000XM, Paramount ME

Rick

--
Correct domain name is arvig and it is net not com. Prefix is correct.
Third character is a zero rather than a capital "Oh".

This one is easy, no skill required.

Rick


Stefan Lilge wrote:
Great result Rick. I never managed to image a gravitational lens.

Stefan

"Rick Johnson" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
. com...

I'm not sure if these posts are getting through from the new server. My
post of IC 4282 never showed but did show on spacebanter.com. Though
text posts have all come through fine. Trying again.

This one isn't very pretty but, to me, it is pretty interesting. 11
minutes north of NGC 3079 and a bit west is QSO 0957+561 the first
example of the predicted Einstein Gravitational Lens. It was first
recognized in 1979.

The first image is a low resolution shot showing NGC 3079 (part of it)
at the bottom with the QSO in the circle. Second image is a close up of
the lensed QSO taken at 0.5" per pixel rather than my normal 1" per
pixel. They are separated by only 6" of arc. This was taken between
clouds with a half moon due south so it doesn't begin to go as deep as
most of my images. It falls at least 2-3 magnitudes away from my normal
images. Clouds made gathering more data impossible and it's been
overcast ever since, 51 nights and counting. This does show the blue
color of the QSO rather well.

The bottom image is brighter than the top. That's because it is the
combined light of the QSO and the lensing galaxy. They are separated by
only 1" of arc and my seeing was about 2.5" the night I took this so
they merge as one. The Hubble image of this QSO is at:
http://www.astr.ua.edu/keel/agn/q0957.html
Of the stars in the Hubble shot only the one at the bottom just to the
right of the pair is seen without major difficulty in my shot, even then
it is very faint. The star to the right of the upper lensed image is
just barely visible in my shot with a bit of averted imagination.
Normally both would be easy but moonlight and clouds conspired against
me. I'd need 4 times the exposure time I had on a moonless night to
reach my normal limits.

The QSO is listed by NED to be at a distance of 8.852 billion light
years light travel time. It is magnitude 16.7. The spectra of the upper
image of the QSO lags that of the bottom one by 425-430 days +/- 10 days
from the papers I read.

14" LX200R @ f/10, L=4x10' binned 1x1, RGB=1x10' binned 2x2,
STL-11000XM, Paramount ME

Rick

--
Correct domain name is arvig and it is net not com. Prefix is correct.
Third character is a zero rather than a capital "Oh".