3C 273 is a strong radio source in the constellation Virgo: this image from the KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope shows the visible part of the object. The quasar (quasi-stellar object) may radiate a hundred times more light than the brightest ordinary galaxy, and its jet may measure some 150000 light-years in length. 3C 273 is a quasar located in the constellation Virgo. It was the first quasar ever to be identified.