Artist’s Impression of a Pair of Quasars at ‘Cosmic Noon’

This artist's impression illustrates that astronomers using an array of ground- and space-based telescopes, including Gemini North on Hawai‘i, have uncovered a closely bound duo of energetic quasars — the hallmark of a pair of merging galaxies — seen when the Universe was only three billion years old. This discovery sheds light on the evolution of galaxies at “cosmic noon,” a period in the history of the Universe when galaxies underwent bursts of furious star formation. This merger also represents a system on the verge of becoming a giant elliptical galaxy.

Credit:

International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani, J. da Silva

About the Image

Id:noirlab2309a
Type:Artwork
Release date:April 5, 2023, 8 a.m.
Related releases:noirlab2309
Size:4409 x 2481 px

About the Object

Category:Illustrations

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