Chandra Maps Cosmic Pressure Fronts

Chandra_212_1024

chandra_212 March 1st, 2000

Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO

This image made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the merger of two sub-clusters of galaxies. The sub-clusters are embedded within Abell 2142, a gigantic galaxy cluster that is one of the most massive objects in the universe. The smoothness of the elongated cloud in the Chandra image suggests that these sub-clusters have collided two or three times in a billion years or more, and have nearly completed their merger. The bright source in the upper left is an active galaxy in the cluster.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2000/a2142/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Abell 2142

Distance

Universescale3
1,200,000,000 light years
Chandra_212_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 15h 58m 19.3s
DEC = 27° 13’ 58.3”
Orientation
North is 3.8° CW
Field of View
8.4 x 8.3 arcminutes
Constellation
Corona Borealis

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Pseudocolor Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 826.7 pm
Spectrum_xray1
Pseudocolor
Chandra_212_1280
×
ID
212
Subject Category
Subject Name
Abell 2142
Credits
NASA/CXC/SAO
Release Date
2000-03-01
Lightyears
1,200,000,000
Redshift
0.0909
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2000/a2142/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra
Instrument
ACIS
Color Assignment
Pseudocolor
Band
X-ray
Bandpass
X-ray
Central Wavelength
0.8267
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
239.5804578, 27.2328686
Reference Dimension
2400.0, 2391.0
Reference Pixel
1201.0, 1196.5
Scale
5.81685e-05, 5.8168471e-05
Rotation
-3.82
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
WCS retrieved using CXCs PinpointWCS
Creator (Curator)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu
Name
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Email
cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu
Telephone
617.496.7941
Address
60 Garden St.
City
Cambridge
State/Province
MA
Postal Code
02138
Country
USA
Rights
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
Publisher
Chandra X-ray Center
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
a2142_xray.tif
Metadata Date
2011-02-09
Metadata Version
1.2
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
1,200,000,000 light years

Providers | Sign In