quasar 3c 273

[MrTreyLynch]

Is this object visually red?

[michael8554]

Well it's April Fools Day but I'll give a serious answer.

Although it's the brightest quasar, at Mag 12 it's a difficult visual object and I would imagine would only be seen in monochrome (night receptors in the eye)

In reality I would guess it's a vastly distant object that has a very high red shift , so may well be visually red!

[jasonbirder]

I've not observed it myself...but my copy of Cosmic Challenge - The Ultimate Observing List for Amateurs describes it as a a dim slightly blue star of about magnitude 13 - so probably just out of reach for a 6inch and a challenge for an 8 inch scope (whatever the book says about it being possible with smaller scopes)

Of course as it appears stellar - the real challenge will be identifying it!

Maybe I'll have a crack at it when Virgo gets a bit higher...just so I can say its the most distant object I've ever spied!!!