---
title: "APM 08279+5255"
url: "https://spacecatalog.org/object/apm-08279-5255"
release: "DR1"
licence: "CC-BY-4.0"
citation: "SpaceCatalog. APM 08279+5255 [catalogue entry]. Data release DR1 (2026-08-21). https://spacecatalog.org/object/apm-08279-5255"
---

# APM 08279+5255

APM 08279+5255 is a quasar in the constellation [Lynx](https://spacecatalog.org/constellation/lynx), 112.1 Gly from Earth. It was discovered in 1998.

One of the most luminous objects known, and magnified several times over by a gravitational lens. The gas around it holds the largest reservoir of water vapour ever detected — enough to be quoted in units of Earth's oceans, and the count runs to a hundred trillion of them.

## At a glance

- **WHAT IT IS:** Quasar
- **HOW FAR:** 112.1 Gly — A luminosity distance, from its redshift — how faint it looks. The light itself left 11.8 billion years ago.
- **WHERE TO LOOK:** [Lynx](https://spacecatalog.org/constellation/lynx) — The patch of sky it sits in, as seen from Earth.

## Properties

| Quantity | Value |
| --- | --- |
| CLASS | Quasar |
| DISTANCE FROM EARTH | 112.1 Gly — by luminosity distance from a published redshift, flat ΛCDM with H0 = 70 km/s/Mpc |
| CONSTELLATION | Lynx |
| RIGHT ASCENSION (J2000) | 08h 31m 41.7s |
| DECLINATION (J2000) | +52° 45′ 17.6″ |
| DISCOVERED | 1998 |

## Catalogue data

### WHAT KIND OF THING IT IS

What the object is in itself, rather than how it happens to look from here.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Accretion state | quasar — a thin disc near its Eddington limit |

### WHERE IT IS AND HOW IT MOVES

Position, motion across the sky and the size it covers on it. These are measurements of the object as seen from here, so every one of them depends on where here is.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Redshift (z) | 3.911 |

## Also known as

- Common name: APM 08279+5255

## Source

[SpaceCatalog curated data](https://spacecatalog.org/releases) — CC-BY-4.0

How this was made: https://spacecatalog.org/methods#source-curated

## Cite this page

SpaceCatalog. APM 08279+5255 \[catalogue entry\]. Data release DR1 (2026-08-21). https://spacecatalog.org/object/apm-08279-5255

```bibtex
@misc{spacecatalog_apm-08279-5255,
  author       = {{SpaceCatalog}},
  title        = {{APM 08279+5255}},
  howpublished = {SpaceCatalog, data release DR1 (2026-08-21)},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://spacecatalog.org/object/apm-08279-5255},
  note         = {Catalogue entry, data release DR1 (2026-08-21). Values from SpaceCatalog curated data.}
}
```

SpaceCatalog curated data — CC-BY-4.0

The page itself, with its pictures, the sky map and the observing tools: https://spacecatalog.org/object/apm-08279-5255