Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Nov 1980
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1980sciam.243...70c&link_type=abstract
Scientific American, vol. 243, Nov. 1980, p. 70-78.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics, Gravitational Lenses, Quasars, Radio Astronomy, Cosmology, Elliptical Galaxies, Gravitational Effects
Scientific paper
The investigation of the nature of the double quasar 0957+561 A, B, which led to the discovery of a gravitational lens responsible for the formation of a double image of a single quasar, is discussed. Following a brief review of current knowledge of quasars and of the bending of electromagnetic waves by the gravitational field of a massive object, the discovery of two quasars only 6 arcsec apart in March of 1979 is related, and the similar red shifts and spectra of the two objects commonly referred to as the twins are pointed out. The hypothesis that the two objects represent a binary quasar is considered, and further, higher spectral resolution observations demonstrating the improbability of this hypothesis are presented. Consideration is then given to the development of the concept of a gravitational lens and the mechanism by which a gravitational lens may split the light of a quasar. Subsequent radio observations of the twins revealing the presence of two blobs of radio emission near only one of the quasars are discussed as evidence against the gravitational lens hypothesis, and the conclusive optical observations made in November, 1979 revealing the presence of a galaxy between the quasars and the earth are presented. Implications of the discovery of the gravitational lens for cosmology and the general theory of relativity are indicated.
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