3C 263 is classified as aFanaroff-Riley Type II source.[5][6] It is also a steep spectrum[7] source with its radio structure best described as a double-lobed structure.[8] When imaged byVery Large Array, its lobes are asymmetrically placed and of unequal brightness. One lobe is described as jetted and the other as being relaxed. There is also a linearjet containing bright, elongated knots and a diffusedemission region located 2arcseconds from the hotspot region.[9] There is another weak component showing aflux density of 0.13 x 10-26 W m-2 Hz-1.[10]
Observations byChandra X-ray Observatory, showed the compact component of the quasar is made up of several subcomponents; mainly an extended halo, a weak leading component and a bright central component with a flat two-pointradio spectrum.[5] Parsec-scale observations showed the source as a core-jet structure with a bright nucleus. Based on results, its jet contains three knots which in turn projects out from the radio core by 2.5mas.[11]
The nucleus of 3C 263 is found variable. It exhibits an variationamplitude that is greater than 40mJy at 5GHz. Superluminal motion was also detected inside its nucleus with evidence of parsec-scale jet components showingacceleration and nonradial motion. According to results, the inner jet component has atransverse velocity of 0.7h-1 c while the outer jet component has a velocity of 1.2-2.5 h-1 c.[3] SoftX-ray emission was also found surrounding the object with its luminosity calculated as 16.4 x 1043erg s-1.[12]
The host galaxy of 3C 263 is described as a flat-system according toHubble Space Telescope. Based on observations, the host has an alignedmajor axis along theposition angle of 350°. Theabsolute magnitude of the host is approximately 22.2.[13] Faint galaxies have also been found surrounding the object.[14] A multiphaseabsorption system was found at redshift (z) 0.32566 towards the object, showing detections ofneon elements.[15][16]
