[▲ Galaxy cluster “Abell 2744” photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope (Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz, M. Mountain, A. Koekemoer, and the HFF Team (STScI).)]
This is the galaxy cluster “Abell 2744” about 4 billion light years away in the direction of “Sculptor”. A galaxy cluster is a large celestial body that contains hundreds to thousands of galaxies. The image shows countless spiral and elliptical galaxies, including those that do not belong to Abell 2744.
Consisting of about 500 galaxies, Abell 2744 is thought to have undergone a turbulent history, formed by the collision of at least four galaxy clusters over more than 350 million years. As a result of the collision of galaxy clusters, some galaxies in Abell 2744 are believed to have been torn apart by the gravity of the cluster, and stars that do not belong to any galaxy are scattered inside the cluster. Abell 2744 has also been named “Pandora’s Cluster” by researchers because of the various phenomena caused by the collision of galaxy clusters.
The first image is based on the image acquired using the “Advanced Camera for Surveying (ACS)” installed on the “Hubble” Space Telescope (using a total of 7 types of visible light and infrared filters). It was created and published on January 7, 2014, and was reintroduced on November 23, 2022 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Hubble Space Telescope Twitter official account.
Pandora’s Cluster ✨
This #HubbleClassic image depicts a giant galaxy cluster located in the constellation Sculptor. Scientists believe that this cluster resulted from a pile-up of at least four smaller galaxy clusters over 350 million years!
More: https://t.co/074vfqnzEk pic.twitter.com/JCGdo3RYRM
— Hubble (@NASAHubble) November 22, 2022
Source
- Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz, M. Mountain, A. Koekemoer, and the HFF Team (STScI).
- STScI – Abell 2744 Frontier Field
- ESA/Hubble – Pandora’s magnifying glass
Sentence/sorae editorial department