NGC 3079 and the Double Quasar QSO 0957+561

NGC 3079 is a barred spiral galaxy located 50 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. The double quasar QSO 0957+561 lies at a distance of 8.7 billion light-years and was the first observed example of gravitational lensing. We see two images of the same quasar due to the gravitational influence of galaxy YGKOW G1. The visible appearance of the quasar consists of two components of magnitude 16.5–16.7, separated by 6 arcseconds. Captured in late August and early September 2021. Color: 2 hours of 1-minute exposures with a ZWO ASI294MC Pro. Luminance channel: about 9 hours with a ZWO ASI183MM Pro, using 3- and 5-minute exposures.