The Lynx Arc
Explanation:
While chasing the
spectrum of a mysterious arc in a cluster of
galaxies within the obscure northerly
constellation
Lynx, astronomers have
stumbled upon the most massive and distant star-forming region
ever discovered.
The notably red "Lynx arc" lies right of center in
this
color image of the galaxy cluster, a composite of
Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based data.
While the galaxy cluster lies about 5 billion
light-years distant,
spectroscopic studies
show that the arc itself is actually a distorted
image of an even more distant but enormous star-forming region.
The image is formed as the closer galaxy cluster's
gravity
bends light
like a magnifying lens, an effect explained by Einstein's
theory of gravity.
In fact, the monster star-forming region is nearly
12 billion
light-years away
and about a million times brighter than the
more familiar stellar nursery, the
Orion Nebula.
Estimates are that the star-forming region seen as the
Lynx arc contains about a million massive, hot stars, compared
to the four stars which power the
Orion Nebula's glow.
Stars within the Lynx arc are more than twice as hot
as the Orion Nebula's
central stars
and were formed when
the Universe was a mere 2 billion years old.
Still, astronomers believe that the
first stars were
formed at even earlier times.
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.
