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Compass and Scale Image of MACS J0717

Compass and Scale Image of MACS J0717

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    07h 17m 33.79s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    37° 45' 20.01"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Auriga
  • Distance
    DistanceThe 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.
    5.4 billion light-years or 1.7 billion parsecs
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    The image is roughly 4.5 arcminutes (7.7 million light-years or 2.4 megaparsecs) wide.

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: 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.
    Chandra Data: Chandra data used were from proposal 4200. Hubble Data: The Hubble images were created from HST data from proposal 10420: PI: Dr. H. Ebeling (University of Hawaii), I. Smail (University of Durham, UK), J.-P. Kneib (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, France), G. Smith (University of Birmingham, UK), and D. Donovan and E. Barrett (University of Hawaii).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    CXO>ACIS and HST>ACS/WFC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    January 10, 2003 (CXO) and January 24, 2005 - February 9, 2005 (HST)
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    ACS: F606W (V) and F814W (I) ACIS Energies: 5 - 25 T(keV)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    MACS J0717.5+3745
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Cluster of Galaxies
  • Release Date
    April 16, 2009
  • Science Release
    Galaxy Cluster MACS J0717
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Illustration: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI); Science: NASA, ESA, CXC, C. Ma, H. Ebeling, and E. Barrett (University of Hawaii/IfA), et al., and STScI

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Compass and Scale Image of MACS J0717
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

The image is a composite of separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope and the ACIS instrument onboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Two filters were used to sample broad wavelength ranges. A continuous energy band was used to sample the X-ray data. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Cyan: F606W (V) Yellow: F814W (I) Blue - Violet (temperature map): 5 - 25 T(keV)

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

Galaxy Cluster MACS J0717

Galaxy Cluster MACS J0717

This composite image shows the massive galaxy cluster MACS J0717.5+3745 (MACS J0717, for short), where four separate galaxy clusters have been involved in a collision – the first time such a phenomenon has been documented. Hot gas is shown in an image from NASA's Chandra X-ray...

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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