Quasar, PMN J1451-1512, Mag 19.14, Redshift (z): 4.76, Light Time: 13.0 Gyr.

[Dennis]

I used the Database Power Search in SkyTools 4 Imaging to generate a list of Quasars with a Redshift (z) greater than 4.5 and one of the targets returned was the QSO PMN J1451-1512 in Libra.:)

This is an image of that Quasar, PMN J1451-1512, Mag 19.14, Redshift (z): 4.76, Light Time: 13.0 Gyr (22 x 240 sec exposures) taken with my Tak Mewlon 210 F11.5 and QHY268M from my suburban skies in Brisbane (Bortle 6 to 7).

PMN J1451-1512, Quasar
R.A. 14h51m47.1s Dec.: -15°12'20" (2000) in Libra
Magnitude: 19.14 R
Redshift (z): 4.76
Light Time: 13.0 Gyr
Apparent Data for 2023 Jun 15 GMT+10:
Apparent RA: 14h53m05.4s, Apparent Dec: -15°18'10"

Takahashi Mewlon 210 F11.5
QHY 268 M Pro Bin 2x2
Thurs 15th June 2023 10:02pm to 11:41pm AEST
2023-06-15:T12:02 to 13:41 UT
22 x 240 sec exposures

I understand that the parameter 13Giga Years is a measurement of how long it has taken for the light from the distant Quasar to reach the Earth. I also understand that the current estimate for the age of the Universe is in the range of 13.7 to 13.80 billion years.:question:

I have attached a (colour) image from Aladin Lite (PanSTARRS) marking the location of the Quasar with a red cross.

Cheers

Dennis

[PhilTas]

Thanks for sharing Dennis,

That's awesome and very interesting.

Cheers Phil

[Dave882]

Superb effort Dennis. Very interesting!!

[Dennis]

Thanks, Phil and David, I appreciate your comments.:)

This particular Quasar piqued my interest after I read an on-line article at:

https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2002/32/aa2347/aa2347.html

which indicated that in that survey, the QSOs discovered were bright in both radio and optical bands; in particular PMN J1451-1512 was very luminous. PMN J1451-1512 is also now the most distant radio-selected quasar at the time of the survey.

At mag 19.14V gave me some confidence that I would be able to detect it, without the use of IR Pass Filters.:)

Cheers

Dennis

[alpal]

Good work Dennis,
how amazing that light which started its journey 13 billion years ago
can still be observed today by a relatively modest system.
It didn't take ESO to detect it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Southern_Observatory


cheers
Allan

[middy]

My image is not worthy of its own thread so I am just going to tack it onto the end of your thread, Dennis.

After our conversation last month in the Software sub-forum, you got me thinking about quasars and I wondered if I would be able to capture one. So last month I had a crack at it, but I only managed a measly 20 x 60 sec exposures. You could just about make out a little something if you squinted and held your head at just the right angle. If you hadn't provided an image showing where to look, I would have just written it off as colour noise.

Anyway, I made some guiding improvements the other week and I decided to have another go with some longer exposures at the next new moon period.

Here is the result:
Total time: 80 mins (12 x 300 secs combined with the original 20 x 60 secs).
Taken with an ASI 2600MC on a 10" Skywatcher F4 Quattro Newt.

Thanks for doing all the hard work, Dennis; the research and the convenient finder chart. You made my life so much easier. :)

[Dennis]

Well done Andrew, that's a really cool shot.:thumbsup:

Isn’t it amazing what we amateurs can do in our back gardens with off-the-shelf equipment that Edwin Hubble or Clyde Tombaugh could never have imagined in their wildest dreams.:)

I was thinking we could combine our efforts in imaging high-redshift Quasars to follow up on the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize for Physics, which was awarded for a “Cosmic Bell Test Using Random Measurement Settings from High-Redshift Quasars”;)

https://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/news-1/quantum-entanglement-confirmed-with-light-from-distant-quasars

Why Did Quantum Entanglement Win the Nobel Prize in Physics? - YouTube

Cheers

Dennis