1996A&A...308L..25H

We report the discovery of a double QSO which was found during verification observations of QSO candidates of the Hamburg Quasar Survey. The A component has an apparent B magnitude of 17.2 and a redshift of 1.45. At a distance of 9.1" there is a second QSO with a B magnitude of 19.0 and the same redshift. In the range of the optical spectra obtained both objects show CIV (1549A), CIII] (1909A) and MgII (2798A) emission lines. In the spectrum of the B component there is well seen a broad CIV absorption line with nearly the same redshift which cannot be seen in the spectrum of the A component. In addition to the large separation of the two QSOs this strengthens the assumption that this pair is a genuine binary QSO and not a gravitationally lensed single QSO. This new pair offers the possibility to measure the transverse size of Lyα clouds in the yet-unexplored redshift range z<1.4 with HST.