APOD: 2023 January 18 Á MACS0647: Gravitational Lensing of the Early Universe by Webb
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Credit & Copyright: NASA,
ESA,
CSA,
Dan Coe
(STScI),
Rebecca Larson (UT), Yu-Yang Hsiao (JHU);
Processing:
Alyssa Pagan
(STScI);
Text: Michael Rutkowski
(Minn. St. U.
Mankato)
Explanation:
Gravitational lensing by the galaxy cluster MACS0647 -- in which the massive
foreground cluster distorts and lenses the light emitted by distant background galaxies
along the line of sight Á is on vivid display here in
this recent
multi-color
infrared image from the
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
In particular, the background source
MACS0647-JD
is seen to be
lensed three times by the cluster.
When first discovered with the
Hubble Space Telescope,
MACS0647-JD was observed as an amorphous blob.
With Webb though,
this single source is revealed to be a
pair
or small group of galaxies.
The colors of the MACS0647-JD objects are different as well --
indicating differences potentially in the age or
dust content of these
galaxies.
These new images provide rare examples of galaxies
in
an era only a few 100 million years after the
Big Bang.
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Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: gravitational lens
Publications with words: gravitational lens
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