Re: Einstein's cross

On Feb 7, 2010, at 9:51 AM, Julien Lecomte wrote:

> So it looks like, under the right conditions, an experienced observer
> can visually see it as a non-stellar object, not quite round, with a
> scope in the 14" range. I might give it a try this fall with my
> (hopefully ready by then) 16" scope. Has anybody on this list ever
> been able to see it as 4 clearly separated components?

Here are the individual V magnitudes for the components: 17.4, 17.4, 18.4, 18.7

But keep in mind all 4 components fit in a circle just 2 arcseconds in diameter. In other words, cleanly resolving all 4 components is equivalent to trying to resolve four mag 17.4-18.7 stars in a smaller space than one pair of the Double-Double!

A much easier lensed quasar to try and resolve (but still very difficult!) is the Double Quasar in Ursa Major near NGC 3079. The individual components are V = 16.4 and 16.8 and the separation is 6". I've only seen it as a single faint "star" in an 18-inch, but some observers have split it (usually in a larger scope).

Steve

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