Nation IN BRIEF : NEW JERSEY : Quasar Discovery Sets Distance Record
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A team of astronomers says it has discovered a quasar that is the most distant object known in the visible universe. The quasar is believed to be about 12.1 billion light-years away, 40 million light-years farther away than the previous record-holder. One light-year equals 5.88 trillion miles, the distance light travels in one year. Astronomers Donald P. Schneider of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., Maarten Schmidt of Caltech in Pasadena, Calif., and James E. Gunn of Princeton University reported the discovery in the September issue of the Astronomical Journal.
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