This collage shows images of six different galaxy clusters taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory. The clusters were observed in a study of how dark matter in clusters of galaxies behaves when the clusters collide. Seventy-two large cluster collisions were studied in total.
Using visible-light images from Hubble, the team was able to map the post-collision distribution of stars and also of the dark matter (colored in blue), which was traced through its gravitational lensing effects on background light. Chandra was used to see the X-ray emission from impacted gas (pink).
The team determined that dark matter interacts with itself and everything else even less than previously thought.
The clusters shown here are, from left to right and top to bottom: MACS J0416.1-2403, MACS J0152.5-2852, MACS J0717.5+3745, Abell 370, Abell 2744, and ZwCl 1358+62.
Credits
Image: NASA, ESA, STScI, and CXC;Science: NASA, ESA, D. Harvey (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland; University of Edinburgh, UK), R. Massey (Durham University, UK), T. Kitching (University College London, UK), and A. Taylor and E. Tittley (University of Edinburgh, UK)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Description | Galaxy Clusters |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The images are created from various Hubble archive observations of galaxy clusters. The science team includes: D. Harvey (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland/University of Edinburgh), R. Massey (Durham University, UK), T. Kitching (University College London), and A. Taylor and E. Tittley (University of Edinburgh, UK). TOP ROW (left to right): Object Name: MACS J0416.1-2403 Constellation: Eridanus Distance Estimate: 4.29 billion light-years (z=0.396) Coordinates (J2000): RA: 04h 16m 09s.90 | Dec: -24° 03' 58".00 Object Name: MACS J0152.5-2852 Constellation: Fornax Distance Estimate: 4.43 billion light-years (z=0.413) Coordinates (J2000): RA: 01h 52m 34.45s | Dec: -28° 53' 42".23 Object Name: MACS J0717.5+3745 Constellation: Auriga Distance Estimate: 5.41 billion light-years (z=0.545) Coordinates (J2000): RA: 07h 17m 33s.80 | +37° 45' 20".02 BOTTOM ROW (left to right): Object Name: Abell 370 Constellation: Cetus Distance Estimate: 4.12 billion light-years (z=0.375) Coordinates (J2000): RA: 02h 39m 50.5s | Dec: -01° 35' 08" Object Name: Abell 2744 Constellation: Sculptor Distance Estimate: 3.52 billion light-years (z=0.308) Coordinates (J2000): RA: 00h 14m 19s.51 | Dec: -30° 23' 19".18 Object Name: ZwCl 1358+62 Constellation: Draco Distance Estimate: 3.72 billion light-years (z=0.33) Coordinates (J2000): RA: 13h 59m 50.60s | Dec: +62° 31' 04".00 |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are composites of separate exposures acquired by the HST/ACS and CXO/ACIS instruments. Several filters and X-ray energies were used to observe the objects. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter or energy. In this case, the assigned colors are: Pink: X-ray Yellow: Optical Blue: Dark Matter Map |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
