Where Alice in Wonderland Meets Albert Einstein

Chandra_613_1024

chandra_613 November 23rd, 2015

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UA/J.Irwin et al; Optical: NASA/STScI

Astronomers think that in the future the "Cheshire Cat" group will become what is known as a fossil group, a gathering of galaxies that contains one giant elliptical galaxy and other much smaller, fainter ones. Today, researchers know each "eye" galaxy is the brightest member of its own group of galaxies and these two groups are racing toward one another at over 300,000 miles per hour. Data from Chandra (purple), which has been combined with optical data from Hubble, show hot gas that has been heated to millions of degrees, which is evidence that the galaxy groups are slamming into one another. Chandra's X-ray data also reveal that the left "eye" of the Cheshire Cat group contains an actively feeding supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2015/cheshirecat/

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
SDSS J103842.59+484917.7
Subject - Distant Universe
Galaxy > Grouping > Cluster
Galaxy > Type > Gravitationally Lensed

Distance

Universescale3
4,600,000,000 light years
Chandra_613_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 10h 38m 42.9s
DEC = 48° 49’ 17.7”
Orientation
North is 14.7° CW
Field of View
1.3 x 1.3 arcminutes
Constellation
Ursa Major

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Magenta Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 826.7 pm
Blue Hubble (WFC3) Infrared (IR) 110.0 nm
Green Hubble (WFC3) - -
Red Hubble (WFC3) Infrared (IR) 160.0 nm
Spectrum_xray1w
Magenta
Blue
Red
Chandra_613_1280
×
ID
613
Subject Category
D.5.5.3   D.5.1.8  
Subject Name
SDSS J103842.59+484917.7
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/UA/J.Irwin et al; Optical: NASA/STScI
Release Date
2015-11-23
Lightyears
4,600,000,000
Redshift
4,600,000,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2015/cheshirecat/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, Hubble, Hubble, Hubble
Instrument
ACIS, WFC3, WFC3, WFC3
Color Assignment
Magenta, Blue, Green, Red
Band
X-ray, Infrared, -, Infrared
Bandpass
X-ray, IR, -, IR
Central Wavelength
0.8267, 110, -, 160
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
159.6788503, 48.8215892
Reference Dimension
3600.0, 3600.0
Reference Pixel
1801.0, 1801.0
Scale
6.01332e-06, 6.0133171e-06
Rotation
-14.74
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
cheshirecat.tif
Metadata Date
2015-11-23T12:33:40-05:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
4,600,000,000 light years

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