Precocious Galaxy Cluster Identified by Chandra

Chandra_466_1024

chandra_466 October 26th, 2010

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/A.Siemiginow

This composite image contains a new, deep image from Chandra (blue) showing emission from gas surrounding the point-like quasar near the center of the galaxy cluster known as 3C 186. Optical data from the Gemini telescope (yellow) show the stars and galaxies in the field of view. Chandra X-ray spectra reveal that the temperature of the gas drops from 80 million degrees on the outskirts of the cluster down to 30 million in the core. This drop in temperature occurs because intense X-ray emission from the gas cools it. 3C 186 is the most distant such object observed, and could provide insight into the triggering of quasars and the growth of galaxy clusters.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2010/3c186/

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

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

View Options View Options

Download Options Download Options

Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
3C186
Subject - Distant Universe
Galaxy > Type > Interacting
Galaxy > Activity > AGN > Quasar
Galaxy > Grouping > Cluster

Distance Details Distance

Universescale3
7,990,000,000 light years
Chandra_466_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 7h 44m 16.8s
DEC = 37° 53’ 16.6”
Orientation
North is 0.1° CCW
Field of View
4.6 x 3.4 arcminutes
Constellation
Lynx

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 826.7 pm
Red Gemini (GMOS-N) Optical (R-band) 630.0 nm
Green Gemini (GMOS-N) Optical (G-band) 475.0 nm
Spectrum_xray1
Blue
Red
Green
Chandra_466_1280
×
ID
466
Subject Category
D.5.1.7   D.5.3.2.1   D.5.5.3  
Subject Name
3C186
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/A.Siemiginow
Release Date
2010-10-26
Lightyears
7,990,000,000
Redshift
1.067
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2010/3c186/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, Gemini, Gemini
Instrument
ACIS, GMOS-N, GMOS-N
Color Assignment
Blue, Red, Green
Band
X-ray, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
X-ray, R-band, G-band
Central Wavelength
0.8267, 630, 475
Start Time
2007-12-03T14:44:37, 2007-02-22T01:58:51, 2007-02-22T02:45:22
Integration Time
200000, 900, 900
Dataset ID
800744, -, -
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
116.0700124, 37.8879321
Reference Dimension
3600.0, 2635.0
Reference Pixel
1801.0, 1318.5
Scale
2.14219e-05, 2.1421875e-05
Rotation
0.13
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
3c186.tif
Resource URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2010/3c186/3c186.tif
Related Resources
Metadata Date
2011-12-02
Metadata Version
1.2
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
7,990,000,000 light years

Providers | Sign In

NASA’s Universe of Learning materials are based upon work supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AC65A to the Space Telescope Science Institute, working in partnership with Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The award is part of NASA’s Science Activation program, which strives to further enable NASA science experts and content into the learning environment more effectively and efficiently with learners of all ages.