As an experiment, I decided to test whether it's possible to capture an image of the jet from quasar 3C273 with amateur equipment. I've also long wanted a photo of this object for my collection. The jet is visible quite well! Although it unfortunately overlapped with the diffraction spikes from the secondary mirror supports, the jet still came through! For comparison, a Hubble Space Telescope image of the same object is provided.
Quasar 3C273 is the brightest object of its type, located 2.5 billion light-years away. It appears blue, as it should—this is radiation from the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's center. The jet also has a bluish color.
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