Editing 3C 273 (section)

==Properties==
[[Image:Quasar 3C 273.jpg|thumb|left|200px|3C 273 as imaged by the [[Hubble Space Telescope]]'s [[Advanced Camera for Surveys]]. Light from the bright quasar nucleus is blocked by a [[coronagraph]] so that the surrounding host galaxy can be more easily seen. Credit: [[NASA]]/[[ESA]]]]
This is the [[optic]]ally brightest quasar in the sky from Earth with an [[apparent visual magnitude]] of ~12.9, and one of the closest with a [[redshift]], ''z'', of 0.158.<ref name="Schmidt1963"/> A [[luminosity distance]] of D<sub>L</sub> = {{convert|749|Mpc|e9ly|1|abbr=off|lk=on}} may be calculated from ''z''.<ref name="Uchiyamaetal2006">{{cite journal | display-authors=6 | author=Uchiyama, Yasunobu | author2=Urry, C. Megan | author3=Cheung, C. C. | author4=Jester, Sebastian | author5=Van Duyne, Jeffrey | author6=Coppi, Paolo | author7=Sambruna, Rita M. | author8=Takahashi, Tadayuki | author9= Tavecchio, Fabrizio | author10=Maraschi, Laura | title=Shedding New Light on the 3C 273 Jet with the Spitzer Space Telescope | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | date=2006 | volume=648 | issue=2 | pages=910–921 | bibcode=2006ApJ...648..910U | doi=10.1086/505964|arxiv = astro-ph/0605530 | s2cid=119520309 }}</ref> Using [[stellar parallax|parallax]] methods with the [[Very Large Telescope]] [[Interferometry|interferometer]] yields a distance estimate of {{val|1.80|0.32|0.28|u=Gly|fmt=commas}}&nbsp;({{val|552|97|79|u=Mpc}}).<ref name=Wang_et_al_2020/>

It is one of the most luminous quasars known, with an [[absolute magnitude]] of −26.7,<ref name="3C 273 article">{{Cite journal|title=The Quasi-Stellar Radio Sources 3C 48 and 3C 273| bibcode=1964ApJ...140....1G| journal=The Astrophysical Journal|year=1964 |doi = 10.1086/147889 |last1=Greenstein |first1=Jesse L. |last2=Schmidt |first2=Maarten |volume=140 |page=1 |s2cid=123147304 |doi-access=free }}</ref> meaning that if it were only as distant as [[Pollux (star)|Pollux]] (~10 [[parsec]]s) it would [[Apparent magnitude|appear nearly as bright]] in the sky as the [[Sun]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Best image of bright quasar 3C 273 | website=esahubble.org | date=November 18, 2013 | url=https://esahubble.org/images/potw1346a/ | access-date=2023-02-25 }}</ref> Since the Sun's [[absolute magnitude]] is 4.83, it means that the quasar is over 4 trillion times more [[luminosity|luminous]] than [[Solar luminosity|the Sun]] at visible wavelengths.<ref>Per the formula for [[Magnitude_(astronomy)#Apparent_magnitude|comparing fluxes and magnitudes]]: <math>10^{(4.83+26.7)/2.5}=4.09*10^{12}</math>.</ref>

The [[luminosity]] of 3C 273 is variable at nearly every [[wavelength]] from [[radio wave]]s to [[gamma ray]]s on timescales of a few days to decades. [[Polarization (waves)|Polarization]] with coincident orientation has been observed with radio, [[infrared]], and optical light being emitted from a [[Astrophysical jet|large-scale jet]]; these emissions are therefore almost certainly [[synchrotron radiation|synchrotron]] in nature.<ref name="Uchiyamaetal2006"/> The radiation is created by a jet of charged particles moving at [[relativistic speed]]s. [[VLBI]] radio observations of 3C 273 have revealed [[proper motion]] of some of the radio emitting regions, further suggesting the presence of [[relativistic jets]] of material.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1038/290365a0|title=Superluminal expansion of quasar 3C273|date=1981|last1=Pearson|first1=T. J.|last2=Unwin|first2=S. C.|last3=Cohen|first3=M. H.|last4=Linfield|first4=R. P.|last5=Readhead|first5=A. C. S.|last6=Seielstad|first6=G. A.|last7=Simon|first7=R. S.|last8=Walker|first8=R. C.|journal=Nature|volume=290|issue=5805|pages=365|bibcode = 1981Natur.290..365P |s2cid=26508893 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1038/354374a0|title=Large-scale superluminal motion in the quasar 3C273|date=1991|last1=Davis|first1=R. J.|last2=Unwin|first2=S. C.|last3=Muxlow|first3=T. W. B.|journal=Nature|volume=354|issue=6352|pages=374|bibcode = 1991Natur.354..374D |s2cid=4271003 }}</ref>

This is a prototype of an [[Active Galactic Nucleus]], demonstrating that the energy is being produced through [[Accretion (astrophysics)|accretion]] by a [[supermassive black hole]] (SMBH). No other astrophysical source can produce the observed energy.<ref name=Husemann_et_al_2019>{{cite journal | title=Jet-driven Galaxy-scale Gas Outflows in the Hyperluminous Quasar 3C 273 | last1=Husemann | first1=Bernd | last2=Bennert | first2=Vardha N. | last3=Jahnke | first3=Knud | last4=Davis | first4=Timothy A. | last5=Woo | first5=Jong-Hak | last6=Scharwächter | first6=Julia | last7=Schulze | first7=Andreas | last8=Gaspari | first8=Massimo  | last9=Zwaan | first9=Martin A. | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | volume=879 | issue=2 | id=75 | date=July 2019 | page=75 | doi=10.3847/1538-4357/ab24bc | arxiv=1905.10387 | bibcode=2019ApJ...879...75H | s2cid=166227892 | doi-access=free }}</ref> The mass of its central SMBH has been measured to be {{val|886|187}} million [[solar mass]]es through broad emission-line [[reverberation mapping]].<ref name="Petersonetal2004">{{cite journal | display-authors=6 | author=Peterson, B. M. | author2=Ferrarese, L. | author3=Gilbert, K. M. | author4=Kaspi, S. | author5=Malkan, M. A. | author6=Maoz, D. | author7=Merritt, D. | author7-link=David Merritt | author8=Netzer, H. | author9=Onken, C. A. | author10=Pogge, R. W. | author11=Vestergaard, M. | author12=Wandel, A. | title=Central Masses of AGNs. II. | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | date=2004 | volume=613 | issue=2 | pages=682–699 | doi=10.1086/423269| bibcode=2004ApJ...613..682P|arxiv = astro-ph/0407299 | s2cid=16308360 }}</ref>

===Large-scale jet===
The quasar has a large-scale visible [[astrophysical jet|jet]], which measures ~{{convert|200000|ly|kpc}} long, having an apparent size of 23″.<ref name="Uchiyamaetal2006"/> Such jets are believed to be created by the interaction of the central [[black hole]] and the [[accretion disk]]. In 1995, optical imaging of the jet using the [[Hubble Space Telescope]] revealed a structured [[Galaxy morphological classification|morphology]] evidenced by repeated bright knots interlaced by areas of weak emission.<ref name="Uchiyamaetal2006"/> The viewing angle of the jet is about 6° as seen from Earth. The jet was observed to abruptly change direction by an intrinsic angle of 2° in 2003, which is larger than the jet's intrinsic opening angle of 1.1°.<ref>{{cite journal | title=An Oversized Magnetic Sheath Wrapping around the Parsec-scale Jet in 3C 273 | last1=Lisakov | first1=M. M. | last2=Kravchenko | first2=E. V. | last3=Pushkarev | first3=A. B. | last4=Kovalev | first4=Y. Y. | last5=Savolainen | first5=T. K. | last6=Lister | first6=M. L. | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | volume=910 | issue=1 | id=35 | date=March 2021 | page=35 | doi=10.3847/1538-4357/abe1bd | arxiv=2102.04563 | bibcode=2021ApJ...910...35L | s2cid=231855529 | doi-access=free }}</ref> An expanding cocoon of heated gas is being generated by the jet, which may be impacting an inclined disk of gas within the central {{val|6|u=kpc|p=~&nbsp;}}.<ref name=Husemann_et_al_2019/>

===Host galaxy===
3C 273 lies at the center of a giant [[elliptical galaxy]] with an [[apparent magnitude]] of 16 and an apparent size of 29 [[arcseconds]]. The [[Galaxy morphological classification|morphological classification]] of the host galaxy is E4,<ref name="Bahcall97">{{cite journal | author=Bahcall, John N. | author2=Kirhakos, Sofia | author3=Saxe, David H. | author4=Schneider, Donald P. | title=Hubble Space Telescope Images of a Sample of 20 Nearby Luminous Quasars | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | date=1997 | volume=479 | issue=2 | pages=642–658 |arxiv=astro-ph/9611163 | bibcode=1997ApJ...479..642B | doi=10.1086/303926| s2cid=15318893 }}</ref> indicating a moderately flattened elliptical shape. The galaxy has an estimated mass of {{val|2|e=11|ul=solar mass|p=~&nbsp;}}.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Kinematics of the Broad-line Region of 3C 273 from a 10 yr Reverberation Mapping Campaign | last1=Zhang | first1=Zhi-Xiang | last2=Du | first2=Pu | last3=Smith | first3=Paul S. | last4=Zhao | first4=Yulin | last5=Hu | first5=Chen | last6=Xiao | first6=Ming | last7=Li | first7=Yan-Rong | last8=Huang | first8=Ying-Ke | last9=Wang | first9=Kai | last10=Bai | first10=Jin-Ming | last11=Ho | first11=Luis C. | last12=Wang | first12=Jian-Min | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | volume=876 | issue=1 | id=49 | date=May 2019 | page=49 | doi=10.3847/1538-4357/ab1099 | arxiv=1811.03812 | bibcode=2019ApJ...876...49Z | s2cid=119403004 | doi-access=free }}</ref>