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El Gordo (NIRCam Image)

A black background is scattered with hundreds of small galaxies of different shapes, ranging in color from white to yellow to red.

Webb’s infrared image of the galaxy cluster El Gordo (“the Fat One”) reveals hundreds of galaxies, some never before seen at this level of detail. El Gordo acts as a gravitational lens, distorting and magnifying the light from distant background galaxies. Two of the most prominent features in the image include the Thin One, located just below and left of the image center, and the Fishhook, a red swoosh at upper right. Both are lensed background galaxies.

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.
    Cluster is 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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A black background is scattered with hundreds of small galaxies of different shapes, ranging in color from white to yellow to red.
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

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

The left two-thirds of the frame shows a field of small galaxies on a black background. Near the center of the image, a long, thin line is outlined with a white box and labeled A. At upper right, a red swoosh nearly encircling two galaxies is outlined with a white box and labeled B. The right third of the frame shows zoomed in views of the two regions in the boxes. At top in box A, a thin mottled line extends from upper left to lower right with a handful of background objects. At bottom in box B, a red swoosh wraps around from upper left to lower right, nearly encircling two small galaxies located at one o’clock and seven o’clock.

La Flaca and El Anzuelo (NIRCam Image)

Webb’s infrared image of the galaxy cluster El Gordo (“the Fat One”) reveals hundreds of galaxies, some never before seen at this level of detail. El Gordo acts as a gravitational lens, distorting and magnifying the light from distant background galaxies. Two of the most...

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

El Gordo (NIRCam Compass Image)

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...

A black background is scattered with hundreds of small galaxies of different shapes, ranging in color from white to yellow to red. Some galaxies are distorted, appearing to be stretched out or mirror imaged. Near the center, a particularly long and thin line stretches from ten o’clock to four o’clock. At upper right, a red swoosh extends about three-quarters of the way around a pair of galaxies. A handful of foreground stars display eight diffraction spikes.

Tour of El Gordo Galaxy Cluster

In July 2022, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope observed El Gordo, a galaxy cluster that existed 6.2 billion years after the big bang. It was selected as the most massive galaxy cluster known at that time in cosmic history. The resulting image reveals a variety of...

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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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