Hubble image of MACS J0717
This enormous image shows Hubble’s view of massive galaxy cluster MACS J0717.5+3745. The large field of view is a combination of 18 separate Hubble images.
Studying the distorting effects of gravity on light from background galaxies, a team of astronomers has uncovered the presence of a filament of dark matter extending from the core of the cluster. This is one of the first positive detections of a filament, and the most precise to date.
Using additional observations from ground-based telescopes, the team were able to map the filament’s structure in three dimensions, the first time this has ever been done.
Credit:NASA, ESA, Harald Ebeling(University of Hawaii at Manoa) & Jean-Paul Kneib (LAM)
About the Image
Id: | heic1215b |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | 16 October 2012, 15:00 |
Related releases: | heic1215 |
Size: | 18956 x 10646 px |
About the Object
Name: | MACS J0717.5+3745 |
Type: | Early Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster |
Constellation: | Auriga |
Category: | Galaxies |
Image Formats
Wallpapers
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 7 17 43.80 |
Position (Dec): | 37° 42' 24.55" |
Field of view: | 15.79 x 8.87 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 47.7° right of vertical |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Optical V | 606 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical V+I |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |