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El Gordo (NIRCam Compass Image)

Image titled “James Webb Space Telescope; El Gordo,” with compass arrows, scale bar, and color key.

This is an image of the El Gordo galaxy cluster with compass arrows, scale bar and color key. The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).

This image shows invisible near-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which NIRCam filters were used when collecting the light. The color of each filter name is the visible light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.

Read the full image caption.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    01:02:55
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -49:15:38
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Phoenix
  • 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.
    7.6 billion light-years (2.3 billion parsecs)
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is about 2.3 arcminutes across (6 million light-years)

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.

    This image was created with Webb data from proposal: 1176 (R. A. Windhorst).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    NIRCam
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    29 July 2022
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F115W, F150W, F200W, F277W, F356W, F444W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    El Gordo, ACT-CL J0102-4915, SPT-CL J0102-4915
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Galaxy Cluster
  • Release Date
    August 2, 2023
  • Science Release
    Webb Spotlights Gravitational Arcs in ‘El Gordo’ Galaxy Cluster
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA; Science: Jose Diego (IFCA), Brenda Frye (University of Arizona), Patrick Kamieneski (ASU), Timothy Carleton (ASU), Rogier Windhorst (ASU); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Jake Summers (ASU), Jordan D'Silva (UWA), Anton Koekemoer (STScI), Aaron Robotham (UWA), Rogier Windhorst (ASU)

Downloads

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Image titled “James Webb Space Telescope; El Gordo,” with compass arrows, scale bar, and color key.
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 James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample wide 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: F115W+F150W Green: F200W + F277W Red: F356W + F444W

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA

Science Credit

Jose Diego (IFCA), Brenda Frye (University of Arizona), Patrick Kamieneski (ASU), Timothy Carleton (ASU), Rogier Windhorst (ASU)

Image Processing Credit

Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Jake Summers (ASU), Jordan D’Silva (UWA), Anton Koekemoer (STScI), Aaron Robotham (UWA), Rogier Windhorst (ASU)

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