The Dawn of the Clusters
Explanation:
What did the
universe look like near the beginning?
This exciting
photo by the
Hubble Space Telescope is one of the deepest ever
taken, and shows
galaxies as far away as ever before photographed.
The universe back then - when only one third of its present
age - was a
strange and violent place. Back then a large fraction of galaxies were
colliding and
interacting. In fact, the shapes of many
galaxies in the above photo are more distorted than most
nearby galaxies.
At this early universe epoch many
clusters of galaxies were just forming.
The bright twisted group of galaxies below the photographs center contains
the energetic radio galaxy 3C324.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
