Abstract
The first direct observation of the ultraviolet spectrum of a quasi-stellar object (QSO) has been made with a rocket-borne telescope. The emission line spectrum of 3C273 is similar to the spectra of high-redshift QSOs, but no absorption is observed. The results provide important new constraints on theoretical models of QSOs, place a severe limit on the density of neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium, and suggest a cosmological origin for much of the absorption seen in high-redshift QSOs. Comparision of the ultraviolet spectrophotometry of low- and high-redshift QSOs suggests that the universe is closed, with qo ∼ 1.
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Davidsen, A., Hartig, G. & Fastie, W. Ultraviolet spectrum of quasi–stellar object 3C273. Nature 269, 203–206 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269203a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/269203a0
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