Cosmic Heavyweights in Free-For-All

Chandra_423_1024

chandra_423 April 16th, 2009

Credit: X-ray (NASA/CXC/IfA/C. Ma et al.); Optical (NASA/STScI/IfA/C. Ma et al.)

This composite image shows the massive galaxy cluster MACSJ0717.5+3745 (MACSJ0717, for short) where four separate galaxy clusters have been involved in a collision --the first time such a phenomenon has been documented. In this composite image, data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory reveal the cluster's hot gas, while an optical image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the individual galaxies in the system. The hot gas in this image is color-coded to show temperature, where the coolest gas is reddish purple, the hottest gas is blue, and the temperatures in between are purple.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2009/macs/

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
MACSJ0717.5+3745
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Grouping > Cluster
Galaxy > Grouping > Supercluster
Galaxy > Type > Interacting

Distance

Universescale3
5,400,000,000 light years
Chandra_423_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 7h 17m 31.1s
DEC = 37° 45’ 25.0”
Orientation
North is 0.2° CW
Field of View
4.9 x 4.7 arcminutes
Constellation
Auriga

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 310.0 pm
Violet Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 1.23 nm
Cyan Hubble: Hubble (ACS) Optical (I-band) 814.0 nm
Spectrum_xray1
Blue
Violet
Cyan
Yellow
Chandra_423_1280
×
ID
423
Subject Category
C.5.5.3   C.5.5.4   C.5.1.7  
Subject Name
MACSJ0717.5+3745
Credits
X-ray (NASA/CXC/IfA/C. Ma et al.); Optical (NASA/STScI/IfA/C. Ma et al.)
Release Date
2009-04-16
Lightyears
5,400,000,000
Redshift
5,400,000,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2009/macs/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, Chandra, Hubble: Hubble
Instrument
ACIS, ACIS, ACS, ACS
Color Assignment
Blue, Violet, Cyan, Yellow
Band
X-ray, X-ray, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
-, -, I-band, V-band
Central Wavelength
0.31, 1.23, 814, 555
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
109.3796461, 37.7569552
Reference Dimension
2916.0, 2829.0
Reference Pixel
1459.0, 1415.5
Scale
2.77795e-05, 2.7779519e-05
Rotation
-0.23
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
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
macs.tif
Metadata Date
2012-03-28
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
5,400,000,000 light years

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