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Credit & Copyright: Rolf Olsen
Explanation:
Galaxies dot the sky in this impressively wide and deep image of the Antlia Cluster.
The third closest cluster of galaxies to Earth after
Virgo and
Fornax, the
Antlia cluster is known
for its compactness and its high fraction of
elliptical galaxies over
(spirals.
Antlia, cataloged as
Abell S0636, spans
about 2 million light years and lies about 130 million
light
years
away toward the constellation of the Air Pump
(Antlia).
The cluster has two prominent galaxy groups - bottom center and upper left -- among
its over 200 galactic members, but no single
central
dominant galaxy.
The vertical red ribbon of gas on the left is thought related to the foreground
Antlia supernova remnant and not associated with the cluster.
The featured image composite, taken from
New Zealand,
resulted from 150+ hours of exposures taken over six months.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Antlia - cluster of galaxies
Publications with words: Antlia - cluster of galaxies
See also: