Discovery of the Musket Ball Cluster

Chandra_506_1024

chandra_506 April 12th, 2012

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UCDavis/W.Dawson et al; Optical: NASA/STScI/UCDavis/W.Dawson et al.

This composite image shows Chandra (red) and Hubble (yellow and white) data of the galaxy cluster system that has been nicknamed the "Musket Ball" cluster. Astronomers call it this because the newly discovered cluster is older and slower than the Bullet Cluster, a famous system in which "normal" matter has been wrenched apart from dark matter. Chandra detects the normal matter as hot gas, while optical emission reveals the presence of dark matter through the effect of gravitational lensing (blue). DLSCL J0916.2+2951 is further along in its evolution than the Bullet Cluster, giving scientists valuable insight into a different phase of how galaxy clusters -- the largest known objects held together by gravity -- grow and change after major collisions.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2012/musketball/

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
DLSCL J0916.2+2951
Subject - Distant Universe
Galaxy > Grouping > Cluster

Distance

Universescale3
5,230,000,000 light years
Chandra_506_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 9h 16m 11.7s
DEC = 29° 50’ 41.0”
Orientation
North is 133.1° CCW
Field of View
6.4 x 3.0 arcminutes
Constellation
Cancer

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Hubble (WFC) Optical (Wide V) 606.0 nm
Green Hubble (WFC) Optical (Pseudo-Green) -
Blue Hubble (WFC) Optical (I-band) 814.0 nm
Purple Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 826.7 pm
Diffuse Blue in the image conveys mass map derived from HST optical data.
Spectrum_xray1w
Red
Blue
Purple
Chandra_506_1280
×
ID
506
Subject Category
D.5.5.3  
Subject Name
DLSCL J0916.2+2951
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/UCDavis/W.Dawson et al; Optical: NASA/STScI/UCDavis/W.Dawson et al.
Release Date
2012-04-12
Lightyears
5,230,000,000
Redshift
5,230,000,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2012/musketball/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble, Hubble, Hubble, Chandra
Instrument
WFC, WFC, WFC, ACIS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue, Purple
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, X-ray
Bandpass
Wide V, Pseudo-Green, I-band, -
Central Wavelength
606, -, 814, 0.8267
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
D
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
139.0485782, 29.8447303
Reference Dimension
3600.0, 1699.0
Reference Pixel
1801.0, 850.5
Scale
2.97742e-05, 2.9774242e-05
Rotation
133.10
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 Observatory Center
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
musketball.tif
Metadata Date
2012-04-12T10:40-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
5,230,000,000 light years

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