Quasar Quads (IMAGE)

California Institute of Technology

Quasar Quads

Caption

Four of the newfound quadruply imaged quasars are shown here: From top left and moving clockwise, the objects are: GraL J1537-3010 or "Wolf's Paw;" GraL J0659+1629 or "Gemini's Crossbow;" GraL J1651-0417 or "Dragon's Kite;" GraL J2038-4008 or "Microscope Lens." The fuzzy dot in the middle of the images is the lensing galaxy, the gravity of which is splitting the light from the quasar behind it in such a way to produce four quasar images. By modeling these systems and monitoring how the different images vary in brightness over time, astronomers can determine the expansion rate of the universe and help solve cosmological problems. The pictures of Wolf's Paw, Gemini's Crossbow, and Dragon's Kite were taken by the Pan-STARRS1 Sky Survey; and the picture of Microscope Lens was captured by Dark Energy Survey.

Credit

The GraL Collaboration

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