3C 273 Jet??

[Paul M]

Having already assembled a rudimentary image of 3C 273...

...I've go to thinking about imaging the jet, or more precisely wandering if it's possible with amateur equipment. I know it's primarily a radio/X-ray feature but it does have an optical counterpart of significant extent.

SGL seems to have very little on the subject other than a thread from 2015 which pointed to forum where a group of Big Dobbers saw the jet visually!! In that case surely it's possible to image it, maybe use some kind of occulting bar to obscure the Quasar itself. 

I know, the horse has bolted for this year as the solstice turns night into day; I'm just planning/fantasising ahead and occupying my mind   

Anyone tried/failed/succeeded on this challenge?

 

[MarsG76]

If some claim to have seen it with big dobs than it's not just radio and X ray and definitely possible to image... but if only radio or xray make up the jets than I'd have my doubts... but there's only one way to find out..

[Paul M]

14 hours ago, MarsG76 said:

but there's only one way to find out..

Indeed!

There is no harm in trying. But what a way for those poor, travel weary photons to end their cosmic journey; in my imaging train. They'll be thinking: "Really? We came all this way to be tortured ?!" 🤣

[Datalord]

On 05/06/2020 at 20:56, Paul M said:

Anyone tried/failed/succeeded on this challenge?

I'm going to guess it needs to be some serious amateur hardware. This is Hubble's version at 52,000mm focal length:

I wouldn't even try it with my 12" RC at 2400mm. It would be only a few pixels long, if I could even get lucky enough to catch a few photons from it.

[tomato]

Yes, that would be quite a capture, seeing all those massively distant galaxies that have some discernible structure in the Hubble image makes you realise how tough it would be.

[x6gas]

Anyone know the angular size of the jet?

[Paul M]

1 minute ago, x6gas said:

Anyone know the angular size of the jet?

I'll measure it on my image so long as you don't mind waiting 9 months for it to come round again...

[Tomatobro]

I remember getting all excited by this image until I spotted that all the objects had a similar artefact (M87)

Edited June 6, 2020 by Tomatobro
spelling

[tomato]

2 hours ago, x6gas said:

Anyone know the angular size of the jet?

23” according to the Wikipedia entry.

[Datalord]

34 minutes ago, tomato said:

23” according to the Wikipedia entry.

Really?! That would mean I could capture 23 pixel long jet at bin 2. Are you sure it's that long? We're talking about an object 2.5 billion light years away. 

[MarsG76]

7 hours ago, Paul M said:

Indeed!

There is no harm in trying. But what a way for those poor, travel weary photons to end their cosmic journey; in my imaging train. They'll be thinking: "Really? We came all this way to be tortured ?!" 🤣

totrured??? or perhaps massaged into an image....

[Tomatobro]

8 hours ago, Datalord said:

Really?! That would mean I could capture 23 pixel long jet at bin 2. Are you sure it's that long? We're talking about an object 2.5 billion light years away. 

 

[tomato]

If I have read the charts correctly it’s around 11” in the visible wavelengths? At that apparent size it might be worth going deep with the Esprit 150/ASI178s (0.47” per pixel unbinned), that would occupy 0.7% of the sensor’s length.

Something to look forward to in the Spring.

[Datalord]

Good fun. Just did the math. Got the length of the jet to be 133kly long at 11", which seems to be confirmed by that wiki article. Crazy. I should be able to comfortably capture that...

[Star101]

https://www.astrobin.com/full/90973/0/

Taken with three C11's by a group. Then added together, I think....If the translation is correct. https://www.astrobin.com/65168/?nc=user

 

Dave.

[Paul M]

32 minutes ago, Star101 said:

https://www.astrobin.com/full/90973/0/

Taken with three C11's by a group. Then added together, I think....If the translation is correct. https://www.astrobin.com/65168/?nc=user

 

Dave.

Very impressive result. Not sure I'd get much of a result with my 250 Newt @ 1200mm f/l.

 

[Star101]

Just now, Paul M said:

Very impressive result. Not sure I'd get much of a result with my 250 Newt @ 1200mm f/l.

 

I think they must have very good seeing there too. I have looked at a few images of this 3C 273 jet and none come anywhere near close to theirs.

[tomato]

 

37 minutes ago, Star101 said:

https://www.astrobin.com/full/90973/0/

Taken with three C11's by a group. Then added together, I think....If the translation is correct. https://www.astrobin.com/65168/?nc=user

 

Dave.

Definitely on my hit list now for next Spring. I certainly won't have the ideal seeing conditions, but its got to be worth a go.👍

[Paul M]

I just cropped and extreme stretched my original stack of 12 x 60s @ ISO 1600 subs.

Ok, nowhere near deep enough but it gives me confidence that all it needs is time, patience and perhaps a bigger image scale.

My guess is that some imagers out there will have the jet hidden in their old data without realising it.