QSO J0931+3204

QSO J0931+3204
DESI Legacy DR10 image of QSO J0931+3204
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationLeo
Right ascension09h 31m 39.04s
Declination+32° 04' 00.08"
Redshift0.22551
Heliocentric radial velocity60138
Distance3.2647 bly (1,000.97 mpc)
Apparent magnitude (V)18.76
Characteristics
TypeE?
Size865,600 ly (265.38 kpc)
Other designations
LEDA 1978568, 2MASX J09313900+3204006

QSO J0931+3204 is a type I seyfert galaxy, quasar, and elliptical galaxy in the constellation of Leo.[1] The galaxy is at redshift z = 0.022551, equivalent to roughly 3.265 billion light years (1,000.97 megaparsecs) away and has an apparent visual magnitude of 18.76.[1][2] It was discovered in 2003 in the HyperLEDA survey of over 950,000 galaxies.[3]

Physical properties

QSO J0931+3204 is a large elliptical galaxy and is in fact one of the largest galaxies discovered.[1] The galaxy is 865,600 light years (265.38 kiloparsecs) across based on a distance of 3.265 billion light years (1,000.97 megaparsecs) and an angular diameter of 54.8 arcsecs.[2]

In the galactic center of QSO J0931+3204 is an extremely luminous quasar that has a luminosity of 2.04e+38 watts equal to 533.6 billion L.[4] The galactic center contains a massive 100 million M central black hole which is accreting on huge amounts of matter, which is ejecting mass amounts of gas outside the galaxy forming radio lobes.[4] It is possible that QSO J0931+3204 has binary central black holes (BBHs), however this is unlikely.[5]

In 2020, it was discovered in the SAGAN survey that QSO J0931+3204 generated a 14.1 million light year (4.325 megaparsec) radio structure based on an angular diameter of 19.22 arcmin.[6] At the time of discovery, QSO J0931+3204 was the largest giant radio quasar (GRQ) ever discovered however a newer 2023 article discovered a larger giant radio quasar designated FBQS J1318+2626 spanning 4.622 megaparsecs.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "SIMBAD Results for QSO J0931+3204". SIMBAD. Retrieved 2025-11-30.
  2. ^ a b "NED Results for QSO J0931+3204". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Retrieved 2025-11-30.
  3. ^ Paturel, G.; Petit, C.; Prugniel, Ph.; Theureau, G.; Rousseau, J.; Brouty, M.; Dubois, P.; Cambrésy, L. (2003). "HYPERLEDA. I. Identification and designation of galaxies". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 412: 45. Bibcode:2003A&A...412...45P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20031411. Retrieved 2025-11-30.
  4. ^ a b Coziol, Roger (2017). "What sparks the radio-loud phase of nearby quasars?". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 466: 921–944. arXiv:1612.02655. doi:10.1093/mnras/stw3164.
  5. ^ Tsalmantza, Paraskevi (2011). "A Systematic Search for Massive Black Hole Binaries in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Spectroscopic Sample". The Astrophysical Journal. 738 (1): 20. arXiv:1106.1180. Bibcode:2011ApJ...738...20T. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/738/1/20.
  6. ^ Dabhade, Pratik (2020). "Search and analysis of giant radio galaxies with associated nuclei (SAGAN)". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 642: A153. arXiv:2005.03708. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202038344.
  7. ^ Oei, Martijn (2023). "Measuring the giant radio galaxy length distribution with the LoTSS". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 672: A163. arXiv:2210.10234. Bibcode:2023A&A...672A.163O. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243572.