[ITAL]Hubble Space Telescope[/ITAL] and MERLIN Observations of the Jet in 3C 273

We present red and blue images of the jet of the quasar 3C273 obtained withthe WFPC2 on the Hubble Space Telescope as well as a new radio map made withthe MERLIN array. The images are of significantly better quality than that ofprevious data. The two maps are aligned to an accuracy of 0.020$''$; thisaccuracy is achieved because both the quasar and the jet are contained in boththe radio and optical images. The start of the optical jet is marked by anelongated knot which appears identical at radio and optical wavelengths. Otherknots in the optical jet correspond to narrow oblique features within the radiooutline. The total width of the smooth emission in the optical jet is~$0.7''$;the FWHM of the optical knots is~$0.3''$. The knots may trace the currentlocation of a narrow, perhaps helical jet lying within the outlines of theolder radio cocoon.Comment: 9 pages, uuencoded postscript file, three postscript figures are available by anonymous ftp to ftp://eku.sns.ias.edu/pub/best/ as 3c273fig1.ps, 3c273fig2.ps, 3c273fig3.ps. To appear in ApJ Letters, October 199