![A cluster of galaxies fills the frame. A purple glow around the largest concentrations of galaxies indicates the distribution of dark matter.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/hubble-abell1689-darkmatter-heic1014a-jpg.webp?w=4096&format=png)
Mass map of Abell 1689
Abell 1689 is an immense cluster of galaxies located 2.2 billion light-years away. Astronomers map the cluster's dark matter by plotting the arcs produced by light from background galaxies that are warped by the foreground cluster's gravitational field.
Credits: NASA, ESA, E. Jullo (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), P. Natarajan (Yale University), and J.-P. Kneib (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS, France); Acknowledgment: H. Ford and N. Benetiz (Johns Hopkins University), and T. Broadhurst (Tel Aviv University)
TakenAugust 19, 2010
Image CreditNASA, ESA, E. Jullo (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), P. Natarajan (Yale University), and J.-P. Kneib (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS, France); Acknowledgment: H. Ford and N. Benetiz (Johns Hopkins University), and T. Broadhurst (Tel Aviv University)
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