Galaxy cluster MACS J0647.7+7015
This view from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the massive galaxy cluster MACS J0647.7+7015. Astronomers used the powerful gravity from the cluster to magnify the light from a distant galaxy, using an effect called gravitational lensing.
The bright yellow galaxies near the center of the image are cluster members; due to the gravitational lensing technique, astronomers observed three magnified images of a far more distant galaxy called MACS0647-JD with the Hubble telescope. These are visible as small red dots in this image.
This is the latest discovery from a large program, called the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH), that uses natural zoom lenses to reveal distant galaxies in the early Universe.
This image is a composite taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys. The observations were taken 5 October and 29 November 2011.
Credit:
NASA, ESA, and M. Postman and D. Coe (Space Telescope Science Institute), and the CLASH team
About the Image
| Id: | heic1217c |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 15 November 2012, 19:00 |
| Related releases: | heic1217 |
| Size: | 1578 x 1520 px |
About the Object
| Name: | MCS J0647.7+7015 |
| Type: | • Early Universe : Galaxy : Type : Gravitationally Lensed • Early Universe : Cosmology : Phenomenon : Lensing • Unspecified : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster |
| Distance: | z=11.0 (redshift) |
