Chandra Release - March 13, 2002

Visual Description: Quasar Pair Q2345+007 A, B

The Chandra X-ray Observatory image of a pair of quasars, known as Q2345+007A and B, has two bright spots against a dark background, with each spot appearing slightly different in color and intensity. The larger brighter spot to the upper left has a yellowish-orange hue, while the dimmer and smaller spot to its lower right appears more whitish-green. The two bright spots resemble small spheres and are relatively small compared to the overall size of the image. Despite their small size, the spots depict two powerful quasars, likely created by merging galaxies. When galaxies collide, the flow of gas onto the central supermassive black holes of each of the galaxies can be enhanced, resulting in two quasars. The light from the quasar pair started its journey toward Earth 11 billion years ago. Galaxies were about three times closer together then than they are now, so collisions were much more likely.