X-ray Image of Galaxy Cluster MS 0735
This image of galaxy cluster MS 0735.6+7421 was taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory in November 2003. Diffuse, hot gas with a temperature of nearly 50 million degrees permeates the space between the galaxies in the cluster. The gas emits X-rays, which are seen as blue in this image. Enormous holes or cavities in the gas, each roughly 640,000 light-years in diameter - nearly seven times the diameter of the Milky Way are seen in the image. The cavities were created by jets of charged particles ejected at nearly light speed from a supermassive black hole weighing nearly a billion times the mass of our Sun, which lurks in the nucleus of the bright central galaxy.
Credit:
NASA/CXC, B. McNamara (University of Waterloo and Ohio University)
About the Image
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
| Id: | opo0651c |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 2 November 2006, 19:00 |
| Size: | 5478 x 5494 px |
About the Object
| Name: | MS 0735.6+742 |
| Type: | • Early Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster • Galaxies Images/Videos |
| Distance: | z=0.216 (redshift) |
Colours & filters
| Band | Telescope |
| X-ray | Chandra ACIS |
