---
title: "Cloverleaf quasar"
url: "https://spacecatalog.org/object/cloverleaf-quasar"
release: "DR1"
licence: "CC-BY-4.0"
citation: "SpaceCatalog. Cloverleaf quasar [catalogue entry]. Data release DR1 (2026-08-21). https://spacecatalog.org/object/cloverleaf-quasar"
---

# Cloverleaf quasar

Cloverleaf quasar is a quasar in the constellation [Boötes](https://spacecatalog.org/constellation/bootes), 66.23 Gly from Earth. Other catalogues list it as H1413+117. It was discovered in 1988.

Lensing splits it into four images arranged like a clover. It was the first quasar found to contain carbon monoxide, which established that the cold molecular gas [galaxies](https://spacecatalog.org/galaxies) build [stars](https://spacecatalog.org/stars) out of was already in place ten billion years ago.

## At a glance

- **WHAT IT IS:** Quasar
- **HOW FAR:** 66.23 Gly — A luminosity distance, from its redshift — how faint it looks. The light itself left 10.8 billion years ago.
- **WHERE TO LOOK:** [Boötes](https://spacecatalog.org/constellation/bootes) — The patch of sky it sits in, as seen from Earth.

## Properties

| Quantity | Value |
| --- | --- |
| CLASS | Quasar |
| DISTANCE FROM EARTH | 66.23 Gly — by luminosity distance from a published redshift, flat ΛCDM with H0 = 70 km/s/Mpc |
| CONSTELLATION | Boötes |
| RIGHT ASCENSION (J2000) | 14h 15m 46.3s |
| DECLINATION (J2000) | +11° 29′ 43.4″ |
| DISCOVERED | 1988 |

## 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) | 2.51969 |

## Also known as

- Common name: Cloverleaf quasar
- Common name: H1413+117

## 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. Cloverleaf quasar \[catalogue entry\]. Data release DR1 (2026-08-21). https://spacecatalog.org/object/cloverleaf-quasar

```bibtex
@misc{spacecatalog_cloverleaf-quasar,
  author       = {{SpaceCatalog}},
  title        = {{Cloverleaf quasar}},
  howpublished = {SpaceCatalog, data release DR1 (2026-08-21)},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://spacecatalog.org/object/cloverleaf-quasar},
  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/cloverleaf-quasar