THE FIRST FIRST GRAVITATIONALLY LENSED QUASAR - FBQ 0951+2635

The V = 16.9 quasar FBQ 0951 + 2635 at redshift z = 1.24 appears doubl e on CCD exposures taken in subarcsecond seeing. The two objects are s eparated by 1.'' 1 and differ in brightness by 0.9 mag. VLA observatio ns show the radio source to be double with the same separation and pos ition angle. Spectra taken with the Keck II Telescope show the two com ponents to have nearly identical emission-line spectra, but with somew hat different absorption-line systems. Subtraction of two stellar poin t-spread functions from the pair of components consistently leaves a r esidual object. Depending upon whether this third object is extended o r a point source, it may be as much as 1/10 or as little as 1/100 as b right as the brighter QSO component. The observations leave little dou bt that the two brighter objects are gravitationally lensed images of the same quasar. The third object might be either the lensing galaxy o r a third image of the quasar, but both interpretations have serious s hortcomings.