eso9304 — Science Release Brightest Known Double Quasar
Discovered 3 June 1993 Although astronomy is an exact natural
science, chance sometimes plays an important role. The recent
discovery during an otherwise routine observation of the
hitherto brightest known double quasar  would not have been
possible without some luck. What began as a normal inspection of
a photographic plate obtained with one of the ESO telescopes,
has now resulted in the identification of a unique celestial
object by a group of European astronomers . In addition to being
of great interest in itself, the new quasar (designated HE
1104-1805 AB) may soon provide observers with an independent
estimate of the distance scale of the universe. It is also
eminently suited to study the structure and composition of the
mysterious absorbing gas clouds in the early universe. Searching
for bright quasars More than 5000 quasars are now known, but
most are seen as rather faint points of light which can only be
studied with comparatively large telescope