Galaxy Cluster in the Early Universe
Explanation:
Long before medieval alchemists dreamed of transmuting
base metals
to gold, stellar furnaces
in this massive cluster
of galaxies - cataloged as RDCS 1252.9-2927 - had transformed
light
elements into heavy ones.
In the
false-color
composite image individual cluster galaxies can
be seen at optical and near-infrared wavelengths, shown
in red, yellow, and green colors.
X-ray
data (in purple) reveal the hot
intracluster gas, enriched
in heavy elements.
Attracting the attention of astronomers using the orbiting
Chandra and
XMM-Newton x-ray telescopes, as well as the
Hubble Space Telescope
and
ground based VLT,
the galaxy cluster lies nearly 9
billion light-years away ...
and so exists at a time when the Universe was less
than 5 billion years old.
A measured mass of more the 200
trillion Suns makes this galaxy cluster
the most massive object ever found when the Universe was so young.
The
cluster
elemental abundances are consistent with the idea
that most heavy elements were synthesized early on by massive stars,
but current theories suggest that such a massive cluster should
be rare in the
early Universe.
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.
