Blog #24: Analyzing a Quasar's Spectrum

3) Such bright objects, known as quasars, can be easily observed at great distances, and astronomers started taking spectra of them back in the 1960's. Here's a spectrum of the first quasar ever discovered, called 3C 273: 

What are the main features you see in this spectrum (ignoring the gap in the data at around 1625 A)? 

The first noticeable thing in this plot is that as you get to larger wavelengths, the flux drops, as is evident by the negative slope of the data.

The second noticeable thing is that the graph has 3 peaks that signify spectral emissions. The three peaks are at around 1400 Angstroms, 1800 Angstroms, and 2200 Angstroms.

The last noticeable thing in this graph is that there are several small dips in the graph, showing the absorption lines in the spectrum.