1 min read

Galaxy Cluster SDSS J1531+3414

This is a Hubble Space Telescope photograph of a never-before-seen string of pearls twisted into a corkscrew shape that winds around the cores of two colliding galaxies. The "pearls" are superclusters of blazing, blue-white, newly born stars. The whole assembly must result from the gravitational tidal forces present in the galaxy collision. The serendipitous discovery was made while astronomers were studying the galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414.

The underlying physics behind the "beads on a string" shape is related to describing the behavior of self-gravitating clumps of gas. It's analogous to the process where rain falls in drops rather than in continuous filaments from clouds. It's called the Jeans instability, and it can play out on distance scales of enormous orders of magnitude.

About the Object

R.A. Position
R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
15h 31m 10.66s
Dec. Position
Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
34° 14' 25.71"
Constellation
ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
Corona Borealis
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.
The cluster has a redshift z = 0.335.

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.
The image was created from Hubble data from proposal 13003: M. Gladders (University of Chicago), J. Rigby (NASA/GSFC), E. Wuyts (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching), K. Sharon (University of Michigan), M. Bayliss (Harvard University), H. Dahle (University of Oslo), and J. Hennawi (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg). The science team comprises: M. Gladders, M. Florian (University of Chicago), S. Baum, C. O'Dea, K. Cooke (Rochester Institute of Technology), M. Bayliss (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), H. Dahle (University of Oslo, Norway), T. Davis (European Southern Observatory), J. Rigby (NASA/GSFC), K. Sharon (University of Michigan), E. Soto (Catholic University), and E. Wuyts (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching).
Instrument
InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
HST>WFC3/UVIS and HST>WFC3/IR
Exposure Dates
Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
May 6, 2013
Filters
FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
F390W (C), F606W (V), F814W (I), and F160W (H)

Object Name
Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
SDSS J1531+3414
Object Description
Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
Galaxy Cluster
Release Date
July 10, 2014
Science Release
Hubble Sees Spiral Bridge of Young Stars Between Two Ancient Galaxies
Read the release
Credit
NASA, ESA, and G. Tremblay (European Southern Observatory); Acknowledgment: M. Gladders and M. Florian (University of Chicago), S. Baum, C. O'Dea, K. Cooke (Rochester Institute of Technology), M. Bayliss (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), H. Dahle (University of Oslo), T. Davis (European Southern Observatory), J. Rigby (Goddard Space Flight Center), K. Sharon (University of Michigan), E. Soto (The Catholic University of America), and E. Wuyts (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics)

Downloads

1200 × 891
jpg (720.21 KB)
PDF
(19.95 MB)
3000 × 2400
jpg (4.26 MB)
200 × 200
jpg (36.52 KB)
400 × 297
jpg (78.36 KB)

This composite image includes exposures acquired by the 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: F390W (C) Cyan: F606W (V) Yellow: F814W (I) Red: F160W (H)

Related Images & Videos