Abell 2744 GLASS (NIRCam Image)

Abell 2744 GLASS (NIRCam Image)

Two of the farthest galaxies seen to date are captured in these Webb Space Telescope pictures of the outer regions of the giant galaxy cluster Abell 2744. The galaxies are not inside the cluster, but many billions of light-years farther behind it. The galaxy labeled (1) existed only 450 million years after the big bang. The galaxy labeled (2) existed 350 million years after the big bang. Both are seen really close in time to the big bang which occurred 13.8 billion years ago. These galaxies are tiny compared to our Milky Way, being just a few percent of its size, even the unexpectedly elongated galaxy labeled (1).

Credits

Science

NASA, ESA, CSA, Tommaso Treu (UCLA)

Image Processing

Zolt G. Levay (STScI)

About The Object
Object Name Abell 2744, Pandora's Cluster
Object Description Galaxy cluster/gravitational lens and high redshift galaxy candidates
R.A. Position 00:14:22.63
Dec. Position -30:23:44.50
Constellation Sculptor
Distance The distance to the cluster is 4 billion light-years. 
About The Data
Data Description This image was created from JWST data from proposal: (T. Treu)
Instrument NIRCam
Exposure Dates 28-29 June 2022
Filters F090W, F115W, F150W, F200W, F277W, F356W, F444W
About The Image
Color Info These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample different infrared wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are:    Blue: F090W, F115W Cyan: F150W Green: F220W Yellow: F277W Orange: F356W Red: F444W
Compass Image Graphic titled “Abell 2744 GLASS; JWST/NIRCam,” with two large square images, one on the left and one on the right, and two smaller images in between, one stacked above the other. The small images are zoom-ins that show details in the large images. The large image on the left shows many galaxies of different colors, shapes, and sizes, and several bright foreground stars with Webb’s characteristic diffraction pattern. On the left side of this image is a box around a galaxy, labeled “1”, which zooms in to a red galaxy shown in the top small center pullout image. Pullout image 1 is labeled “z ~ 10.5” to indicate that the galaxy’s redshift is roughly 10.5. The image on the right also shows many galaxies of different colors, shapes, and sizes, but without any prominent diffraction spikes seen in the left image. It includes a box on the left side, labeled “2”, which zooms into a red galaxy, shown in the bottom center image. Pullout image 2 is labeled “z ~ 12.5” to indicate that the galaxy’s redshift is roughly 12.5
About The Object
Object Name A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
Object Description The type of astronomical object.
R.A. Position Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
Dec. Position Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
Constellation One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
Distance The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
Dimensions The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
About The Data
Data Description
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
Instrument The science instrument used to produce the data.
Exposure Dates The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
Filters The camera filters that were used in the science observations.
About The Image
Image Credit The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content.
Publication Date The date and time the release content became public.
Color Info A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
Orientation The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere.

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