3C 273 - 3C 273 (part1)

3C 273 is a quasar located in the constellation Virgo. It was the first quasar ever to be identified. It is the optically-brightest quasar in our sky (m ~ 12.9), and one of the closest with a redshift, z, of . A luminosity distance of DL = 2.4 Giga light years (749 Mpc) may be calculated from z. It is also one of the most luminous quasars known, with an absolute magnitude of -26.7. Its mass has been measured to be 886 ± 187 million solar masses through broad emission-line reverberation mapping.