Compass and scale image of MACS J0717

Hubble and Chandra working together to observe galaxies and intergalactical gas of the complex MACS J0717.5+3745 (short MACS J0717) galaxy cluster.

This image, composod out of pictures taken from the ESO/NASA Hubble Space Telescope and from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, shows the galacy cluster MACS J0717.5+3745. This cluster originally consited out of four separate clusters, which were combined through a collision into a single one. This makes it one of the most complex galaxy clusters ever seen.

In the image galaxies and stars alike are shown in the visual light, collected by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, whereas the hot gas in between the galaxies was observed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The temperature of the observed gas is represented in the colors of the image: the coolest gas is shown in reddish-purple and hottest gas in blue; temperatures in between are purple.