Artist Illustration of Early-Universe Quasar Cosmic Neighborhood (IMAGE)

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)

Artist Illustration of Early-Universe Quasar Cosmic Neighborhood

Caption

Observations using the Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope confirm astronomers’ expectation that early-Universe quasars formed in regions of space densely populated with smaller companion galaxies. DECam’s exceptionally wide field of view and special filters played a crucial role in reaching this conclusion, and the observations reveal why previous studies seeking to characterize the density of early-Universe quasar neighborhoods have yielded conflicting results.

Credit

NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Garlick/J. da Silva (Spaceengine)/M. Zamani

Usage Restrictions

Credit must be given to the creator.

License

CC BY

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