This long-exposure Hubble Space Telescope image of massive galaxy cluster Abell 2744 shows some of the faintest and youngest galaxies ever detected in space. Abell 2744, located in the constellation Sculptor, appears in the foreground of this image. It contains several hundred galaxies as they looked 3.5 billion years ago. The immense gravity in Abell 2744 acts as a gravitational lens to warp space and brighten and magnify images of nearly 3,000 distant background galaxies. The more distant galaxies appear as they did longer than 12 billion years ago, not long after the big bang.
New research shows that the James Webb Space Telescope could potentially detect the first stars and black holes in the universe, if they are gravitationally lensed by a cluster like Abell 2744. A very precise alignment of the cluster and background star would be needed, so Webb would need to observe a number of clusters repeatedly for the best chance of success.
Credits
Image
NASA, ESA, Jennifer Lotz (STScI), Matt Mountain (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), HFF Team (STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Abell 2744, Pandora's Cluster |
| Object Description | Galaxy Cluster and Gravitational Lens |
| R.A. Position | 00h 14m 19.5s |
| Dec. Position | -30° 23' 19.18" |
| Constellation | Sculptor |
| Distance | Redshift: z=0.308 |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Data were obtained as part of the HST proposals (R. Dupke), (S. Rodney), and (J. Lotz). |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/WFC and HST>WFC3/IR |
| Exposure Dates | October 2009; August - November 2013 Exposure Time: 67 hours |
| Filters | ACS/WFC: F435W (B), F606W (V), F814W (I) WFC3/IR: F105W (Y), F125W (J), F140W (JH), F160W (H) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the ACS and WFC3 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample broad 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: F435W (B) + F606W (V) Green: F814W (I) + F105W (Y) Red: F125W (J) + F140W (JH) + F160W (H) |
| Compass Image |  |
| 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 |
|
| 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. |
