A Massive Cluster In A Young Universe
Credit & Copyright: M. Donahue (STScI) et al.,
NASA
Explanation:
Conventional theories suggest that
this cluster of galaxies should not exist.
Each fuzzy spot in
this false-color Hubble Space Telescope image
of the central regions of a newly discovered
galaxy cluster
is a galaxy similar in mass
to our own Milky Way.
The cluster is one of the most massive known,
contains thousands of galaxies,
and is a few million light-years across.
But it is also
8 billion light-years distant
and so formed when
the Universe was only about half its present age.
Ironically, if the total mass
of the Universe is large,
modern theories predict that clusters of galaxies
as massive
as nearby clusters
should not have existed at such early times and
great distances.
One
explanation for this cluster's presence is that the Universe
we live in is not
massive enough to eventually halt
its expansion
- contradicting some current standard
views of cosmology.
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.
