A reassessment of the data and models of the gravitational lens Q0957+561

We examine models of the mass distribution for the first known case of gravitational lensing. Several new sets of constraints are used, based on recent observations. We remodel the VLBI observations of the radio cores and jets in the two images of Q0957 + 561, showing that the previously derived positions and uncertainties were incorrect. We use as additional constraints the candidate lensed pairs of galaxies discovered recently with the Hubble Space Telescope. We explore a wider range of lens models than before and find that the Hubble constant is not tightly constrained once elliptical lens models are considered. We also discuss the systematic uncertainties caused by the cluster containing the lens galaxy. We conclude that additional observations of the candidate lensed galaxies as well as direct measurements of the cluster mass profile are needed before a useful value of the Hubble constant can be derived from this lens.