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Hubble WFC3 Image of Core of RCS2 032727-132623 and Reconstruction of RCSGA 032727-132609

Hubble WFC3 Image of Core of RCS2 032727-132623 and Reconstruction of RCSGA 032727-132609
This graphic shows a reconstruction (at lower left) of the brightest galaxy whose image has been distorted by the gravity of a distant galaxy cluster. The small rectangle in the center shows the location of the background galaxy on the sky if the intervening galaxy cluster were not there. The rounded outlines show distinct, distorted images of the background galaxy resulting from lensing by the mass in the cluster. The image at lower left is a reconstruction of what the lensed galaxy would look like in the absence of the cluster, based on a model of the cluster's mass distribution derived from studying the distorted galaxy images.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    03h 27m 27.09s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -13° 26' 22.8"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Eridanus
  • 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.
    z = 1.701 (background galaxy RCSGA 032727-132609) and z = 0.564 (foreground galaxy cluster RCS2 032727-132623)

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 12267: J. Rigby (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) et al.
  • 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.
    March 1, 2011, Exposure Time: 2.7 hours
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    WFC3/UVIS: F390W (U), F606W (V), and F814W (I) WFC3/IR: F098M (blue grism), F125W (J), F132N (Paschen β), and F160W (H)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    RCS2 032727-132623, RCSGA 032727-132609
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Galaxy Cluster and Gravitational Lens System
  • Release Date
    February 2, 2012
  • Science Release
    Hubble Zooms in on a Magnified Galaxy
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Illustration: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI); Science: NASA, ESA, J. Rigby (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), K. Sharon (Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago), and M. Gladders and E. Wuyts (University of Chicago)

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Hubble WFC3 Image of Core of RCS2 032727-132623 and Reconstruction of RCSGA 032727-132609
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument on HST. 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 (U) + F606W (V) Green: F814W (I) Red: F098M (blue grism) + F125W (J) + F132N (Paschen β) + F160W (H)

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.

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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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