British Astronomical Association

Supporting amateur astronomers since 1890


Gallery

Observers

Objects

Sky map

Histogram

FAQs

Search

Observation by Nick Hewitt: A binary black hole - OJ 287

Uploaded by

Nick Hewitt

Observer

Nick Hewitt

Observed

2018 Mar 07 - 22:00

Uploaded

2018 Mar 10 - 10:35

Objects

Barnard 92

Planetarium overlay









Constellation

Cancer

Field centre

RA: 08h54m
Dec: +20°07'
Position angle: -176°38'

Field size

0°53' × 0°42'

Equipment
  • 115mm TMB APO f7
  • Starlight Xpress Trius 814
  • EQ8
Exposure

2 x 300s bin2x2

Location

Billing, Northampton

Target name

OJ287 - an AGN in Cancer

Title

A binary black hole - OJ 287

About this image

A tricky object to observe but a fascinating one. It is a BL Lac object that has shown marked outbursts over the 120 year period of observation. At some 3.5 BILLION light years, it is probably the furthest I have probed. It is currently around magnitude 14.8. It is thought to be a binary black hole, with an astonishing mass of 18 billion solar masses. No, I can't imagine that either!

Files associated with this observation
Like this image
Copyright of all images and other observations submitted to the BAA remains with the owner of the work. Reproduction of work by third parties is expressly forbidden without the consent of the copyright holder. By submitting images to this online gallery, you grant the BAA permission to reproduce them in any of our publications.

© British Astronomical Association 2024

Registered charity no. 210769
Registered company no. 117572

For more information including contact details, click here.

Our Terms of Use are here.

Our Privacy Policy is here.

The BAA image gallery was designed and
built by Dominic Ford.

Image gallery software © Dominic Ford 2020–2024