Arc in visible light (Hubble)
The gravity of the cluster's trillion stars acts as a cosmic "zoom lens", bending and magnifying the light of the galaxies located far behind it, a technique called gravitational lensing. The faraway galaxies appear in the Hubble image as arc-shaped objects around the cluster, named Abell 1689. The increased magnification allows astronomers to study remote galaxies in greater detail.
One galaxy is so far away, however, it does not show up in this visible-light image taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys.
Credit:NASA; ESA; L. Bradley (Johns Hopkins University); R. Bouwens (University of California, Santa Cruz); H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University); and G. Illingworth (University of California, Santa Cruz)
About the Image
NASA press release
| Id: | heic0805e |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 12 February 2008, 15:00 |
| Related releases: | heic0805 |
| Size: | 741 x 741 px |
About the Object
| Name: | A1689-zD1, Abell 1689 |
| Type: | Early Universe : Galaxy : Type : Gravitationally Lensed Early Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster |
| Distance: | z=7.6 (redshift) |
| Constellation: | Virgo |
| Category: | Galaxies |
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 13 11 29.93 |
| Position (Dec): | -1° 19' 18.74" |
| Field of view: | 0.20 x 0.20 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 114.2° right of vertical |
View in ESASky:
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical B | 475 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Optical R | 625 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Infrared I | 775 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Infrared Z | 850 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |