Streaks and stripes

Esahubble_potw1748a_1024

esahubble_potw1748a November 27th, 2017

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

This picturesque view from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope peers into the distant Universe to reveal a galaxy cluster called Abell 2537. Galaxy clusters such as this one contain thousands of galaxies of all ages, shapes and sizes, together totalling a mass thousands of times greater than that of the Milky Way. These groupings of galaxies are colossal they are the largest structures in the Universe to be held together by their own gravity. Clusters are useful in probing mysterious cosmic phenomena like dark matter and dark energy, the latter of which is thought to define the geometry of the entire Universe. There is so much matter stuffed into a cluster like Abell 2537 that its gravity has visible effects on its surroundings. Abell 2537s gravity warps the very structure of its environment (spacetime), causing light to travel along distorted paths through space. This phenomenon can produce a magnifying effect, allowing us to see objects that lie behind the cluster and are thus otherwise unobservable from Earth. Abell 2537 is a particularly efficient lens, as demonstrated by the stretched stripes and streaking arcs visible in the frame. These smeared shapes are in fact galaxies, their light heavily distorted by the gravitational field of Abell 2537. This spectacular scene was captured by Hubbles Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide-Field Camera 3 as part of an observing programme called RELICS.

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1748a/

Curator: ESA/Hubble, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Abell 2537
Subject - Distant Universe
Galaxy > Grouping > Cluster
Esahubble_potw1748a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 23h 8m 22.3s
DEC = -2° 11’ 33.3”
Orientation
North is 20.7° CCW
Field of View
3.2 x 3.0 arcminutes
Constellation
Pisces

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Hubble (WFC3) Infrared (H) 1.6 µm
Yellow Hubble (WFC3) Infrared (J) 1.3 µm
Orange Hubble (ACS) Optical (I) 814.0 nm
Cyan Hubble (ACS) Optical (V) 606.0 nm
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical (B) 435.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Red
Yellow
Orange
Cyan
Blue
Esahubble_potw1748a_1280
×
ID
potw1748a
Subject Category
D.5.5.3  
Subject Name
Abell 2537
Credits
ESA/Hubble & NASA
Release Date
2017-11-27T06:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1748a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
WFC3, WFC3, ACS, ACS, ACS
Color Assignment
Red, Yellow, Orange, Cyan, Blue
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
H, J, I, V, B
Central Wavelength
1600, 1250, 814, 606, 435
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
347.092853599, -2.19259583492
Reference Dimension
6389.0, 5929.0
Reference Pixel
3194.5, 2964.5
Scale
-8.33085323861e-06, 8.33085323861e-06
Rotation
20.74
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
potw1748a
Metadata Date
2017-06-09T17:22:38+02:00
Metadata Version
1.1
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×

There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

Providers | Sign In