Helium reionisation in the early Universe
This ultraviolet-light data from the Hubble Space Telescope's Cosmic Origins Spectrograph shows strong helium II absorption and transmission lines from a quasar, identifying an era 11.7 to 11.3 billion years ago when electrons were stripped from primeval helium atoms — a process called reionisation.
Credit:
Shull et al., ApJ, 722: 1312-1324, October 20, 2010
About the Image
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
| Id: | opo1031b |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 7 October 2010, 15:00 |
| Size: | 2273 x 1368 px |
About the Object
| Name: | HE 2347-4342, QSO B2347-4342 |
| Type: | • Early Universe : Galaxy : Activity : AGN : Quasar |
| Distance: | z=2.885 (redshift) |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Ultraviolet Far-UV |
117 nm | Hubble Space Telescope COS |
