APM 08279+5255
| APM 08279+5255Nay Chi Soe | |
|---|---|
| Observation data (Epoch J2000) | |
| Constellation | Lynx |
| Right ascension | 08h 31m 41.70s |
| Declination | 52° 45′ 16.8″ |
| Redshift | 3.911 |
| Distance | 23.6 Gly (7.2 Gpc) h−1 0.73 (co-moving) 12.05 Gly (light travel time) |
| Type | broad absorption line (BAL) quasar, hyperluminous infrared galaxy |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 15.2 (R) |
| Notable features | gravitationally lensed |
| Other designations | |
| IRAS F08279+5255, QSO B0827+5255, QSO J0831+5245 | |
| See also: Quasar, List of quasars | |
Coordinates: 
08h 31m 41.70s, +52° 45′ 16.8″ APM 08279+5255 is a very distant, broad absorption line quasar located in the constellation Lynx. It is magnified and split into multiple images by the gravitational lensing effect of a foreground galaxy through which its light passes. It appears to be a giant elliptical galaxy with a supermassive black hole and associated accretion disk. It possesses large regions of hot dust and molecular gas, as well as regions with starburst activity.
APM 08279+5255 was initially identified as a quasar in 1998 during an Automatic Plate Measuring Facility (APM) survey to find carbon stars in the galactic halo. The combination of its high redshift (z=3.87) and brightness (particularly in the infrared) made it the most luminous object yet seen in the universe. It was suspected of being a gravitationally lensed object, with its luminosity magnified. Observations in the infrared with the NICMOS high-resolution camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) showed that the source was composed of three discrete images. Even accounting for the magnification, the quasar is an extremely powerful object, with a luminosity of 1014 to 1015 times the luminosity of the sun. Subsequent observations with the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph confirmed the presence of a third faint image between the two brighter images. Each component has the same spectral energy distribution and is an image of the quasar. Gravitational lensed systems with odd numbers of images are extremely rare; most contain two or four.
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