un impresionante caleidoscopio cósmico

At first glance, this cosmic kaleidoscope of purple, blue and pink offers a strikingly beautiful — and serene — snapshot of the cosmos. However, this multi-coloured haze actually marks the site of two colliding galaxy clusters, forming a single object known as MACS J0416.1-2403 (or MACS J0416 for short). MACS J0416 is located about 4.3 billion light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Eridanus. This new image of the cluster combines data from three different telescopes: the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (showing the galaxies and stars), the NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory (diffuse emission in blue), and the NRAO Jansky Very Large Array (diffuse emission in pink). Each telescope shows a different element of the cluster, allowing astronomers to study MACS J0416 in detail. As with all galaxy clusters, MACS J0416 contains a significant amount of dark matter, which leaves a detectable imprint in visible light by distorting the images of background galaxies. In this image, this dark matter appears to align well with the blue-hued hot gas, suggesting that the two clusters have not yet collided; if the clusters had already smashed into one another, the dark matter and gas would have separated. MACS J0416 also contains other features — such as a compact core of hot gas — that would likely have been disrupted had a collision already occurred. Together with five other galaxy clusters, MACS J0416 is playing a leading role in the Hubble Frontier Fields programme, for which this data was obtained. Owing to its huge mass, the cluster is in fact bending the light of background objects, acting as a magnifying lens. Astronomers can use this phenomenon to find galaxies that existed only hundreds of million years after the big bang. For more information on both Frontier Fields and the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, see Hubblecast 90: The final frontier. Links Hubblecast 90: The final frontier Link to Hubblesite release

A primera vista, este ‘caleidoscopio cósmico’ aparenta estar en relativa calma. Sin embargo, el objeto multicolor de esta imagen es el resultado de dos cúmulos galácticos a punto de colisionar, al cual se le conoce como MACS J0416.1-2403 o MACS J0416.

MACS J0416 se localiza a 4.300 millones de años luz de distancia en la constelación de Eridanus. Esta imagen combina observaciones de tres telescopios: el Telescopio Espacial Hubble, el Observatorio Chandra de Rayos-X y el NRAO Jansky Very Large Array.

Como ocurre con todos los cúmulos galácticos, MACS J0416 contiene una gran cantidad de materia oscura, la cual deja una marca detectable en luz visible al distorsionar las galaxias en el fondo. En esta imagen, la materia oscura parece alinearse con el gas azul caliente, sugiriendo que los dos cúmulos galácticos aún no colisionan; si los cúmulos ya hubiesen colisionado, la materia oscura y el gas se habrían esparcido. MACS J0416 también contiene un núcleo compacto de gas caliente, el cual todavía no ha sido perturbado por la colisión.

MACS J0416, junto con otros cinco cúmulos galácticos, juegan un papel importante en el programa Hubble Frontier Fields. Debido a su elevada masa, estos cúmulos doblan la luz proveniente de objetos en el fondo, actuando como lentes de aumento. Los astrónomos pueden sacar provecho de este fenómeno para encontrar galaxias que existieron algunos cientos de millones de años después del Big Bang.

Crédito: NASA / ESA / Hubble
 Vía: ElUniversohoy