Chandra Catches Early Phase of Cosmic Assembly

Chandra_229_1024

chandra_229 August 13th, 2004

Credit: NASA/CXC/UMass/Q.D.Wang et al.

Chandra's image reveals a complex of several multimillion degree Celsius gas clouds in the process of merging to form a massive galaxy cluster. A few of the point-like sources in the image are associated with galaxies in the cluster, but the rest are probably distant background galaxies, many of which contain active supermassive black holes. The bright gas cloud on the upper left is the core of the cluster and envelops hundreds of galaxies. The large cloud on the lower right envelops hundreds of galaxies and has a much lower concentration of iron atoms than the core. It is thought that this cloud has not been enriched by the stripping of iron-rich gas from its member galaxies because it has yet to fall into the core cluster. Observations of Abell 2125 provide a rare glimpse into the early steps in the process of building one of the most massive objects in the universe.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2004/a2125/

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
Abell 2125
Subject - Distant Universe
Galaxy > Grouping > Cluster

Distance

Universescale3
3,000,000,000 light years
Chandra_229_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 15h 40m 42.9s
DEC = 66° 12’ 56.5”
Orientation
North is up
Field of View
17.2 x 17.2 arcminutes
Constellation
Ursa Minor

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 1.55 nm
Green Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 3.72 nm
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 7.44 nm
Spectrum_xray1
Red
Green
Blue
Chandra_229_1280
×
ID
229
Subject Category
D.5.5.3  
Subject Name
Abell 2125
Credits
NASA/CXC/UMass/Q.D.Wang et al.
Release Date
2004-08-13
Lightyears
3,000,000,000
Redshift
3,000,000,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2004/a2125/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, Chandra, Chandra
Instrument
ACIS, ACIS, ACIS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue
Band
X-ray, X-ray, X-ray
Bandpass
X-ray, X-ray, X-ray
Central Wavelength
1.55, 3.72, 7.44
Start Time
2001-08-24T00:06:37, 2001-08-24T00:06:37, 2001-08-24T00:06:37
Integration Time
81508, 81508, 81508
Dataset ID
2207, 2207, 2207
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
235.1786854, 66.2156911
Reference Dimension
2298.0, 2295.0
Reference Pixel
1150.0, 1148.5
Scale
0.000124945, 0.00012494506
Rotation
-0.03
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
a2125_xray.tif
Metadata Date
2012-07-26T14:25:49-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
3,000,000,000 light years

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