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Gravitational Lensing in Galaxy Cluster Abell 370
Hubble Space Telescope's newly repaired Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) has peered nearly 5 billion light-years away to resolve intricate details in the galaxy cluster Abell 370.
Abell 370 is one of the very first galaxy clusters where astronomers observed the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, where the warping of space by the cluster's gravitational field distorts the light from galaxies lying far behind it. This is manifested as arcs and streaks in the picture, which are the stretched images of background galaxies.
Gravitational lensing proves a vital tool for astronomers when measuring the dark matter distribution in massive clusters, since the mass distribution can be reconstructed from its gravitational effects.
Ground-based telescopic observations in the mid-1980s of the most prominent arc (near the right-hand side of the picture) allowed astronomers to deduce that the arc was not a structure of some kind within the cluster, but the gravitationally lensed image of an object two times farther away. Hubble resolves unseen new details in the arc that reveal structure in the lensed background galaxy.
Galaxy clusters are the most massive structures of the universe, located at the crossing of the filaments of the cosmic web of dark matter. The most massive clusters can contain up to 1,000 galaxies and intergalactic hot gas, all held together primarily by the gravity of dark matter.
These observations were taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) in its Wide Field mode on July 16, 2009. The composite image was made using filters that isolate light from green, red, and infrared wavelengths.
These Hubble data are part of the Hubble Servicing Mission 4 Early Release Observations.
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.02h 39m 49.9s
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.-1° 34' 26.69"
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Cetus
- DistanceDistanceThe 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.4.9 billion light-years (1.5 billion parsecs)
- DimensionsDimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.This image is 2.4 arcminutes (3.4 million light-years or 1 million parsecs) wide.
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData 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 Hubble images were created from data from proposal 11507: K. Noll (STScI), M. Chiaberge (STScI/ESA/INAF), M. Mutchler, D. Golimowski, and R. Lucas (STScI), and M. Sirianni (STScI/ESA). Acknowledgments for Abell 370 Observers: K. Noll (STScI), M. Chiaberge (STScI/ESA/INAF), M. Mutchler, D. Golimowski, and R. Lucas (STScI), and M. Sirianni (STScI/ESA) Data Analysis: M. Mutchler (STScI) and R. Hook (ST-ECF) Image Composition: R. Hook, O. Hainaut, A. Bombik, and L. Christensen (ST-ECF), Z. Levay and L. Frattare (STScI) Text: L. Frattare, D. Weaver, and R. Villard (STScI) and C. Sharkey and M. Lombardi (ST-ECF) Illustrations: Z. Levay (STScI) Video: G. Bacon (STScI) Science Consultants: M. Livio and B. Whitmore (STScI) and J.-P. Kneib (Observatoire Midi-Pyrenées) - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.HST>ACS/WFC
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.July 16, 2009, Exposure Time: 3.5 hours
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.F475W (G), F625W (R), and F814W (I)
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.Abell 370
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Cluster of Galaxies
- Release DateSeptember 9, 2009
- Science ReleaseHubble Opens New Eyes on the Universe
- Credits
The image is a composite of separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Three filters were used to sample broad wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F475W (G) Green: F625W (R) Red: F814W (I)
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
