New York News
The red quasar the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope observed, called SDSS J165202.64+172852.3 (SDSSJ1652 for short), resides in a very dense environment with several interacting companion galaxies.
These images show the extremely red quasar SDSS J165202.64+172852.3 and its environment. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / D. Wylezalek, A. Vayner & Q3D Team / N. Zakamska.
SDSSJ1652 is so far away that its light has taken around 11.5 billion years to reach our planet.
The quasar is unusually red not just because of its intrinsic red color, but also because its light has been redshifted by its vast distance.
That made Webb, having unparalleled sensitivity in infrared wavelengths, perfectly suited to examine the object in detail.
SDSSJ1652 is one of the most powerful known galactic nuclei that’s been seen at such an extreme distance.
“We think something dramatic is about to happen in these systems,” said Dr. Andrey Vayner, an astronomer at Johns Hopkins University.
“The galaxy is at this perfect moment in its lifetime, about to transform and look entirely different in a few billion years.”
To investigate the movement of the gas, dust and stellar material in SDSS