Interacting quasar. Hubble space telescope (HST) optical image of a quasar interacting with a companion galaxy. The quasar is the bright object at cen

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Interacting quasar. Hubble space telescope (HST) optical image of a quasar interacting with a companion galaxy. The quasar is the bright object at centre with the companion galaxy's spiral arms appearing to the lower right; the companion's core is not visible because of the quasar's brightness. At top centre is an edge-on background galaxy. The galaxy is about billion light-years away. The companion galaxy and the quasar are about 11,000 light-years apart, closer than our Sun is to the centre of the Milky Way. The companion will be consumed by the black hole in the quasar in less than 10 million years. (See also R920/030).

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Size: 4370px × 4342px
Photo credit: © NASA/ESA/STSCI/J.BAHCALL, PRINCETON IAS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: astronomy, black, cosmology, galaxy, hole, home, hst, hubble, image, imagery, interacting, quasar, quasr, science