chandra_172 September 6th, 2001
Credit: X-ray: NASA/IOTA/S.Allen et al. Optical: HST
In this montage, Chandra's large scale X-ray images (left) show hot gas filling the two giant galaxy clusters, while Hubble's smaller scale optical images (right) show the distribution of galaxies in the central regions of the same clusters. The Chandra data provides a detailed temperature map for the hot gas and allows astronomers to precisely determine the total masses of the clusters. Most of the mass is in the form of dark matter. The Hubble data place independent constraints on the masses of the clusters that confirm the Chandra results.
Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory
Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2001/clusters/
Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA
Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
Detailed color mapping information coming soon...
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