Quasar "SBS 1233+594"
The quasar “SBS 1233+594” is located at a distance of 11.4 billion light-years in the constellation “ Big Dipper”. However, this is only the
light travel time - the current distance to the QSO is actually 20.5 billion light-years due to the expansion of the universe.
From the redshift of z=2.82, the escape velocity can be determined to be 261,000 km/s, which corresponds to around 87% of the speed of
light. From the apparent brightness of 17.2mag, the absolute magnitude can be calculated as M= -25.5mag - making the QSO as bright as
1.4 trillion suns. An unimaginable value.
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Even in my 20” f/3 Dobsonian, the QSO is very difficult to observe at 380x.
Within a span of 15 minutes, I only managed to see the quasar flashing out of the dark for a few times. However, in these brief moments I was clearly
able to see this tiny star with averted vision. Unfortunately, there are only a few brighter stars in the immediate vicinity, so that the position of the
QSO can only be roughly estimated - a circumstance that makes observation a little more difficult.
All in all, a not so easy object - even for larger apertures.
