Galaxy cluster MACS J1720+35

Esahubble_heic1409a_1024

esahubble_heic1409a May 1st, 2014

Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Perlmutter (UC Berkeley, LBNL), A. Koekemoer (STScI), M. Postman (STScI), A. Riess (STScI/JHU), J. Nordin (LBNL, UC Berkeley), D. Rubin (Florida State), and C. McCully (Rutgers University)

The heart of a vast cluster of galaxies called MACSJ1720+35 is shown in this image, taken in visible and near-infrared light by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy cluster is so massive that its gravity distorts, brightens, and magnifies light from more distant objects behind it, an effect called gravitational lensing. In the top right an exploding star nicknamed Caracalla and located behind the cluster can just be made out. The supernova is a member of a special class of exploding star called Type Ia, prized by astronomers because it provides a consistent level of peak brightness that makes it reliable for making distance estimates. Finding a gravitationally lensed Type Ia supernova gives astronomers a unique opportunity to check the optical "prescription" of the foreground lensing cluster. The supernova is one of three exploding stars discovered in the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH), and was followed up as part of a Supernova Cosmology Project HST program. CLASH is a Hubble census that probed the distribution of dark matter in 25 galaxy clusters. Dark matter cannot be seen directly but is believed to make up most of the universe's matter. The image of the galaxy cluster was taken between March and July 2012 by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys.

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1409a/

Curator: ESA/Hubble, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Caracalla Supernova MACSJ1720+35
Subject - Local Universe
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Supernova
Galaxy > Grouping > Cluster
Cosmology > Phenomenon > Lensing
Esahubble_heic1409a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 17h 20m 17.3s
DEC = 35° 36’ 23.7”
Orientation
North is 103.3° CW
Field of View
2.4 x 1.8 arcminutes
Constellation
Hercules

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical (B) 435.0 nm
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical (B) 475.0 nm
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical (V) 606.0 nm
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical (R) 625.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Infrared (I) 775.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Infrared (I) 814.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Infrared (z) 850.0 nm
Red Hubble (WFC3) Infrared 1.1 µm
Red Hubble (WFC3) Infrared 1.1 µm
Red Hubble (WFC3) Infrared (J) 1.3 µm
Red Hubble (WFC3) Infrared 1.4 µm
Red Hubble (WFC3) Infrared (H) 1.6 µm
Spectrum_base
Blue
Blue
Blue
Blue
Green
Green
Green
Red
Red
Red
Red
Red
Esahubble_heic1409a_1280
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ID
heic1409a
Subject Category
C.3.1.8   D.5.5.3   D.6.2.1  
Subject Name
Caracalla Supernova, MACSJ1720+35
Credits
NASA, ESA, S. Perlmutter (UC Berkeley, LBNL), A. Koekemoer (STScI), M. Postman (STScI), A. Riess (STScI/JHU), J. Nordin (LBNL, UC Berkeley), D. Rubin (Florida State), and C. McCully (Rutgers University)
Release Date
2014-05-01T19:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1409a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS, WFC3, WFC3, WFC3, WFC3, WFC3
Color Assignment
Blue, Blue, Blue, Blue, Green, Green, Green, Red, Red, Red, Red, Red
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
B, B, V, R, I, I, z, -, -, J, -, H
Central Wavelength
435, 475, 606, 625, 775, 814, 850, 1050, 1100, 1250, 1400, 1600
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
260.071956626, 35.6065929344
Reference Dimension
4800.0, 3600.0
Reference Pixel
2400.0, 1800.0
Scale
-8.32663155359e-06, 8.32663155359e-06
Rotation
-103.31999999999994
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
ESA/Hubble
URL
http://www.spacetelescope.org/
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
ESA/Hubble
Publisher ID
esahubble
Resource ID
heic1409a
Metadata Date
2014-04-24T14:56:03-04:00
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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