3C 273, like many other quasars, is powered by a supermassive black hole at its core, surrounded by swirling gas and dust that emit tremendous amounts of energy as they are pulled into the black ...

For decades, 3C 273 has been a cornerstone of extragalactic research since its discovery in 1963. But until now, much of its structure remained obscured by its overwhelming brightness.

Composite false-color image of the quasar jet 3C273, with emission from radio waves to X-rays extending over more than 100,000 light years. The black hole itself is to the left of the image.

The telescope targeted one of the first and most famous quasars ever discovered: 3C 273. This glowing galactic core sits more than 2.5 billion light-years from Earth and was first identified in 1963.

This image from Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) is likely the best of ancient and brilliant quasar 3C 273, which resides in a giant elliptical galaxy in the constellation of ...