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PLCKESZ G287.0+32.9
PLCK G287.0+32.9 Gravitational Lensing
An extremely large gravitational lens around galaxy cluster PLCK G287.0+32.9
QSO J2240+0321
Einstein Cross
This picture of the gravitationally lensed quasar Q2237+0305 and the associated lensing spiral galaxy was taken by the 3.5-meter WIYN telescope, on the night of October 4, 1999. This system is also known as Huchra's Lens, after its discoverer, and the Einstein Cross, because it is such an...
Abell 3827
Striking image shows mass distribution of nearby galaxy cluster
Using the Dark Energy Camera at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab, astronomers are measuring weak gravitational lensing to map the distribution of mass in nearby galaxy clusters. As well as producing remarkable images like this one, the information will shed...
Abell 1489
Cosmic Community of Abell 1489
Punctuating the deep black of this Image of the Week are hundreds of blobs of light, each one an entire galaxy in our Universe. Many of the yellowish points are members of the galaxy cluster Abell 1489, imaged here using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini North, one half of...
Abell 209
Portrait of a galaxy cluster
A massive, spacetime-warping cluster of galaxies is the setting of today’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week. The galaxy cluster in question is Abell 209, which is located 2.8 billion light-years away in the constellation Cetus (The Whale). This Hubble image of Abell 209 shows...
Abell 2163
Cosmic fireflies
Galaxies glow like fireflies in this spectacular NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image! This flickering swarm of cosmic fireflies is a rich cluster of galaxies called Abell 2163. Abell 2163 is a member of the Abell catalogue, an all-sky catalogue of over 4000 galaxy clusters. It is...
RXC J0232.2-4420
Strings of homeless stars
This sparkling Picture of the Week features a massive galaxy cluster named RXC J0232.2-4420. This image was taken by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide-Field Camera 3 as part of an observing programme called RELICS (Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey). RELICS imaged 41 massive...
Abell 2218
Galaxy Cluster Abell 2218
This Hubble Space Telescope image of the rich galaxy cluster, Abell 2218, is a spectacular example of Gravitational Lensing. The arc-like pattern spread across the picture like a spider web is an illusion caused by the gravitational field of the cluster.
IRC 0218
IRC 0218 lensing feature
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals a close up view of the most distant cosmic lens yet found, a massive elliptical galaxy whose powerful gravity is magnifying the light from a faraway galaxy behind it. The giant elliptical is the red object in the centre. The galaxy is seen as...
SDSS J232120.93-093910.2
Einstein Ring Gravitational Lens: SDSS J232120.93-093910.2
This object is named SDSS J232120.93-093910.2. It is one of eight similar objects found by combining two powerful astronomical assets, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The objects are know as ‘Eienstein rings’ and are perhaps the most elegant manifestations...
SDSS J1110+6459
Wide field image of galaxy cluster SDSS J1110+6459
The galaxy cluster shown here, SDSS J1110+6459, was discovered as part of the Sloan Giant Arcs Survey. It is located about 6 billion light-years from Earth (redshift of z=0.659) and contains hundreds of galaxies. At left, a distinctive blue arc is actually composed of three separate images of a...
Abell 1351
Snapshot of a Massive Cluster
The massive galaxy cluster Abell 1351 is captured in this image by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. This galaxy cluster lies in the constellation Ursa Major in the northern hemisphere. This image is filled with streaks of light, which...
MCG+07-07-072
Rings and things
The subject of this week’s circular Hubble Picture of the Week is situated in the Perseus Cluster, also known as Abell 426, 320 million light-years from Earth. It’s a barred spiral galaxy known as MCG+07-07-072, seen here among a number of photobombing stars that are much closer to Earth than...
LEDA 803211
Ringing in the new year
This week’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week shows a tiny patch of sky in the constellation Hydra. The stars and galaxies depicted here span a mind-bending range of distances. Nearest to us in this image are stars within our own Milky Way galaxy, which are marked by...
Strong gravitational lenses captured by Euclid
This image shows examples of gravitational lenses that Euclid captured in its first observations of the Deep Field areas.
MACS J1423.8+2404
Firefly Sparkle Galaxy Inset (NIRCam Image)
For the first time, astronomers have identified a still-forming galaxy that weighs about the same as our Milky Way if we could “wind back the clock” to weigh our galaxy as it developed. The newly identified galaxy, the Firefly Sparkle, is in the process of assembling and forming stars, and...
MACS J1423.8+2404
MACS J1423.8+2404 (NIRCam Image)
Thousands of glimmering galaxies are bound together by their own gravity, making up a massive cluster formally classified as MACS J1423. The largest bright white oval is a supergiant elliptical galaxy and the dominant member of this galaxy cluster. The galaxy cluster acts like a lens,...
PLCK G165.7
Galaxy Cluster PLCK G165.7 (NIRCam Image)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image of the galaxy cluster PLCK G165.7+67.0, also known as G165, on the left shows the magnifying effect a foreground cluster can have on the distant universe beyond. The zoomed region on the right shows supernova H0pe triply...
MACS J0417.5-1154
MACS J0417.5-1154 Wide Field (NIRCam)
A cosmic question mark appears amid a powerful gravitational lens in the James Webb Space Telescope’s wide-field view of the galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5-1154. Gravitational lensing occurs when something is so massive, like this galaxy cluster, that it warps the fabric of space-time itself,...
MACS J0417.5-1154
Lensed Question Mark Galaxy (NIRCam)
Astronomers are astounded by a rare cosmic alignment showcasing highly magnified star-forming regions in distant galaxies.
Abell 370
Galaxy cluster Abell 370
This is a composite colour image of the Abell 370 cluster of galaxies. The light of a very distant object is deformed by the foreground cluster. Abell 370, at the center of the photo, contains a large number of galaxies — most of them are ellipticals. The two brightest red galaxies slightly...
CL2244-02
Galaxy cluster CL2244-02 with gravitational arcs
The image is a colour composite image of the galaxy cluster CL2244-02 (redshift z = 0.3), combining a 20 min jittered ISAAC Ks (2.16µm) exposure with 15 min V (green-yellow) and R (red) exposures, obtained with the VLT Test Camera at the UT1 Nasmyth focus. In addition to the prominent blue...
HE 1104-1805
Light-bending matter in the distant Universe
This photo shows the unusual object HE 1104-1805, a gravitational lens (`cosmic mirage') in the southern constellation of Crater (the Cup) with two images of the same quasar and also the distant galaxy responsible for this effect.This image was obtained by combining a series of exposures made...
UM673
The gravitational lens system UM673
This photo shows a newly discovered gravitational lens system and the galaxy that causes this effect. To the left are seen the two lensed stellar-like images of the quasar UM673; the magnitude of the brighter (A) is 17 and that of the fainter (B) is 19. The angular distance between A and B is...
Cloverleaf quasar
The Cloverleaf quasar
The Cloverleaf Quasar, so named because it is actually a single object appearing as four, courtesy of gravitational lensing. In this phenomenon, foreground galaxies bend and magnify the distant quasar's light into four point sources of illumination.
Einstein Cross
The Einstein Cross
The Einstein Cross and the galaxy that causes this 'cosmic mirage', as seen with the FORS instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope. This cross-shaped configuration consists of four images of a single very distant source. The multiple images are a result of gravitational lensing by a foreground...
RXS J1131-1231
Newly discovered gravitational lens system RXS J1131-1231
Image of the newly discovered gravitational lens system RXS J1131-1231 recorded by the EFOSC2 instrument on the ESO 3.6-m telescope (left panel). Deconvolution ("image sharpening", right panel) allows a better view of the four star-like components (the four images of the same distant quasar),...
RXS J1131-1231
Spectra of the RXS J1131-1231 lensing system
The spectra of two of the star-like images in the gravitational lens system RXS J1131-1231 (labeled A and D in the top panel) are very similar and are therefore from the same object, i.e., the lensed quasar. The emission lines identified in these spectra are typical of a quasar and the redshft...
9io9
ALMA view of the 9io9 galaxy
This image shows the orientation of the magnetic field in the distant 9io9 galaxy, seen here when the Universe was only 20% of its current age — the furthest ever detection of a galaxy’s magnetic field. The observations were done with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in...
Abell 2390
50,000 galaxies in Abell 2390
More than 50,000 galaxies are visible in this image of Abell 2390, a galaxy cluster 2.7 billion light-years away from Earth.
ACT-CL J0102−4915
El Gordo: a massive distant merging galaxy cluster
This picture of the galaxy cluster ACT-CL J0102−4915 combines images taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope with images from the SOAR Telescope. This newly discovered object has been nicknamed El Gordo — the "big" or "fat one" in Spanish. It consists of two separate galaxy subclusters...
SMM J2135-0102
Chance discovery reveals star factories in the distant Universe
This composite image shows the discovery of the distant galaxy SMM J2135-0102. Left : a view of galaxy cluster MACS J2135-010217 (centre), which is gravitationally lensing SMM J2135-0102. Top right : SMM J2135-0102 was first discovered in submillimetre-wavelength observations (shown in red)...
First results from the KiDS Survey (visible light)
The first results have been released from a major new dark matter survey of the southern skies using ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. The project, known as the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), uses imaging from the VST and its huge camera, OmegaCAM to analyse...
First results from the KiDS survey (dark matter)
The first results have been released from a major new dark matter survey of the southern skies using ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. The project, known as the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), uses imaging from the VST and its huge camera, OmegaCAM to analyse...
RCS2 J2327
HAWK-I and Hubble Explore a Cluster with the Mass of two Quadrillion Suns
This image shows something spectacular: a massive galaxy cluster that it is warping the space around it! The cluster, whose heart is at the centre of the frame, is named RCS2 J2327, and is one of the most massive clusters known at its distance or beyond. Massive objects such as RCS2 J2327 have...
RCS2 J2327
Galaxy Cluster RCS2 J2327
This image shows the galaxy cluster RCS2 J2327. The mass of the cluster causes both strong and weak gravitational lensing, which can be used to calculate the mass of the cluster. This image is a composite of observations from the HAWK-I instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the NASA/ESA...
FORS Deep Field
Unveiling distant stars and galaxies
This frame, scattered with distant stars and galaxies, is a deep-field image taken using the Wide Field Imager (WFI), a camera mounted on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope located at the La Silla Observatory, Chile. It was snapped as part of the COMBO-17 survey (Classifying Objects by ...
COMBO-17 survey
Mapping dark matter in galaxies
A multitude of faint galaxies, small luminous dots scattered over the dark sky, was captured by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. Images such as this one are powerful tools to understand how dark matter is distributed in galaxies.
MACS j1149.5+223
Galaxy cluster MACS j1149.5+223
This image shows the huge galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+223, whose light took over 5 billion years to reach us. The huge mass of the cluster is bending the light from more distant objects. The light from these objects has been magnified and distorted due to gravitational lensing. The same effect...
Eyelash
ALMA view of the Cosmic Eyelash
This ALMA image shows the Cosmic Eyelash, a remote starburst galaxy that appears double and brightened by gravitational lensing. ALMA has been used to detect turbulent reservoirs of cold gas surrounding this and other distant starburst galaxies. By detecting CH+ for the first time in the...
A flower with four petals (full field of view)
There are several galaxies in this Picture of the Week, but the most fascinating is probably the one surrounded by four light-blue dots, resembling a flower with blue petals. But, are these dots real? Yes and no… Taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), this image shows a so-called Einstein...
Abell 1689
Abell 1689: A Galaxy Cluster Makes Its Mark
A galaxy cluster at a distance of about 2.3 billion light years from Earth.
eMACS J1353.7+4329
Galactic monster mash
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a monster in the making in this observation of the exceptional galaxy cluster eMACS J1353.7+4329, which lies about eight billion light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. This disturbed collection of at least two galaxy clusters...
Galaxies
One Galaxy, Three Times
This star- and galaxy-studded image was captured by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), using data that were collected for scientific purposes. The object of interest was a galaxy that is visible in the bottom right corner of the image, named SGAS 0033+02. What makes this particular galaxy...
Galaxies
Seeing Quintuple
Clustered at the centre of this image are six luminous spots of light, four of them forming a circle around a central pair. Appearances can be deceiving, however, as this formation is not composed of six individual galaxies, but only three: to be precise, a pair of galaxies and one distant...
Galaxy
Lens Flair
This intriguing observation from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows a gravitationally lensed galaxy with the long-winded identification SGAS J143845+145407. Gravitational lensing has resulted in a mirror image of the galaxy at the centre of this image, creating a captivating centrepiece....
UZC J224030.2+032131
Seeing quadruple
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope picture may trick you into thinking that the galaxy in it — known as UZC J224030.2+032131 — has not one but five different nuclei. In fact, the core of the galaxy is only the faint and diffuse object seen at the centre of the cross-like structure formed by...
MACS J1149.5+2223
A galactic gathering
Nearly as deep as the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, which contains approximately 10 000 galaxies, this incredible image from the NASA/ESA Space Telescope reveals thousands of colourful galaxies in the constellation of Leo (The Lion). This vibrant view of the early Universe was captured as part of...
Abell S1063
Parallel field of Abell S1063
This part of the sky was observed in parallel with the galaxy cluster Abell S1063 and is also part of the Frontier Fields programme. While one of Hubble’s cameras observed the galaxy cluster itself, another simultaneously captured the spectacular scene pictured above, of an “unremarkable” patch...
MACS 0416
MACS 0416 (Hubble ACS and WFC3 + Webb NIRCam Image)
This panchromatic view of galaxy cluster MACS0416 was created by combining infrared observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope with visible-light data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. To make the image, in general the shortest wavelengths of light were color-coded blue, the longest...
MACS J0416.1-2403
Galaxy cluster MACS0416 (Hubble and Webb composite image)
This panchromatic view of galaxy cluster MACS0416 was created by combining infrared observations from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope with visible-light data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. To make the image, in general the shortest wavelengths of light were colour-coded...
ACT J0102-4915
Monster "El Gordo" Galaxy Cluster is Bigger than Thought
This cluster has been nicknamed "El Gordo" (or, "the fat one" in Spanish) because of its gigantic mass.
MOO J1014+0038
Intracluster Light
Hubble Finds that Ghost Light Among Galaxies Stretches Far Back in Time
2MASX J05101744-4519179
A clear view of a galaxy cluster
The massive cluster Abell 3322 is featured in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, in which the galaxy 2MASX J05101744-4519179 basks in the centre. This distant galaxy cluster is a cosmic leviathan that is highly luminous at X-ray wavelengths. Observing galaxy clusters like...
WHL-J24.3324-8.477
Sunrise Arc (NIRCam Image)
This image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope of a massive galaxy cluster called WHL0137-08 contains the most strongly magnified galaxy known in the universe’s first billion years: the Sunrise Arc, and within that galaxy, the most distant star ever detected. The star, nicknamed Earendel,...
SMACS 0723-73
Webb’s First Deep Field (MIRI and NIRCam Images Side by Side)
Galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 is a technicolor landscape when viewed in mid-infrared light by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Compared to Webb’s near-infrared image at right, the galaxies and stars are awash in new colors. Start by comparing the largest bright blue star. At right, it has very...
SMACS 0723-73
Webb's First Deep Field (NIRCam Image)
Thousands of galaxies flood this near-infrared image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723. High-resolution imaging from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope combined with a natural effect known as gravitational lensing made this finely detailed image possible. First, focus on the galaxies responsible for...
WHL-J24.3324-8.477
Lensed Star Earendel
The Sunrise Arc galaxy with lensed star Earendel in the first billion years
WHL-J24.3324-8.477
Lensed Star Earendel
The Sunrise Arc galaxy with lensed star Earendel in the first billion years
OGLE-2011-BLG-462
Microlensing Black Hole
The star-filled sky in this Hubble Space Telescope photo is located in the direction of the Galactic center. The brightness of stars are monitored to see if any change in apparent brightness is made by a foreground object drifting in front of them. The warping of space by the interloper would...
GAL-CLUS-022058s
Rings of Relativity
The narrow galaxy elegantly curving around its spherical companion in this image is a fantastic example of a truly strange and very rare phenomenon. This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, depicts GAL-CLUS-022058s, located in the southern hemisphere constellation of Fornax...
SDSS J223010.47-081017.8
'Double' Galaxy Mystifies Hubble Astronomers
Galaxy Cluster's Gravity Produces Mirror Images of Distant Galaxy Behind It
MRG-M1341
GRAVITATIONALLY LENSED REQUIEM GALAXIES
These images are composites from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The boxed and pullout images show two of the six, distant, massive galaxies where scientists found star formation has ceased due to the depletion of a fuel source—cold...
MACS J0138.0-2155
MACSJ 0138
THREE TIMES A CHARM: HUBBLE SPOTS THREE IMAGES OF A DISTANT SUPERNOVA
MACS J1206
Hubble Observations Suggest a Missing Ingredient in Current Dark Matter Theories
Researchers Find a Gnawing Gap Between Dark Matter Observations and Theories
RX J0911+0551
Gravitationally Lensed Quasars
Quasars’ Multiple Images Shed Light on Tiny Dark Matter Clumps
RXJ1131-1231
Mosaic of Gravitationally Lensed Quasars
Cosmic Magnifying Glasses Yield Independent Measure of Universe's Expansion
PSZ1 G311.65-18.48
NASA's Hubble Captures a Dozen Galaxy Doppelgangers
The Sunburst Arc This NASA Hubble Space Telescope photo reveals a cosmic kaleidoscope of a remote galaxy that has been split into a dozen multiple images by the effect of gravitational lensing. Gravitational lensing means that the mass of a foreground galaxy cluster is so large it is bending...
Abell 2744
NASA’s Webb to Explore Galaxies from Cosmic Dawn to Present Day
Abell 2744 Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora's Cluster, is a giant pile-up of four smaller galaxy clusters. The cluster is so massive that its powerful gravity bends the light from galaxies far behind it, making the background objects appear larger and brighter in a phenomenon called gravitational...
Abell 370
Hubble Goes Wide to Seek Out Far-Flung Galaxies
Hubble BUFFALO survey provides a new wide-field view of galaxy cluster Abell 370
Abell 370
Hubble Goes Wide to Seek Out Far-Flung Galaxies
Hubble BUFFALO survey provides a new wide-field view of galaxy cluster Abell 370
MACS J1149+2223 Lensed Star 1
Hubble Uncovers the Farthest Star Ever Seen
Cosmic Quirk Boosts Far-Off Star’s Faint Glow Through a quirk of nature called “gravitational lensing,” a natural lens in space amplified a very distant star’s light. Astronomers using Hubble took advantage of this phenomenon to pinpoint the faraway star and set a new distance record for the...
MACS J1149+2223 Lensed Star 1
Hubble Uncovers the Farthest Star Ever Seen
Cosmic Quirk Boosts Far-Off Star’s Faint Glow Through a quirk of nature called “gravitational lensing,” a natural lens in space amplified a very distant star’s light. Astronomers using Hubble took advantage of this phenomenon to pinpoint the faraway star and set a new distance record for the...
SPT-CL J0615-5746
Stretched Out Image of Distant Galaxy
This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the farthest galaxy yet seen in an image that has been stretched and amplified by a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. The embryonic galaxy, named SPT0615-JD, existed when the universe was just 500 million years old. Though a few other primitive...
SPT-CL J0615-5746
Stretched Out Image of Distant Galaxy
This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the farthest galaxy yet seen in an image that has been stretched and amplified by a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. The embryonic galaxy, named SPT0615-JD, existed when the universe was just 500 million years old. Though a few other primitive...
MACS J2129-0741
Dying Young: Massive Dead Disk Galaxy Challenges the Picture of How Galaxies Evolve
By combining the power of a “natural lens” in space with the capability of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers made a surprising discovery—the first example of very compact yet massive disk-shaped and rotating galaxy that stopped making stars only a few billion years after the big bang....
MACS J2129-0741
Dying Young: Massive Dead Disk Galaxy Challenges the Picture of How Galaxies Evolve
By combining the power of a “natural lens” in space with the capability of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers made a surprising discovery—the first example of very compact yet massive disk-shaped and rotating galaxy that stopped making stars only a few billion years after the big bang....
J074851.72
Jackpot! Cosmic Magnifying-Glass Effect Captures Universe's Brightest Galaxies
Galaxies Shine with the Brilliance of up to 100 Trillion Suns Astronomers were fascinated in the 1980s with the discovery of nearby dust-enshrouded galaxies that glowed thousands of times brighter than our Milky Way galaxy in infrared light. Dubbed ultra-luminous infrared galaxies, they were...
J074851.72
Jackpot! Cosmic Magnifying-Glass Effect Captures Universe's Brightest Galaxies
Galaxies Shine with the Brilliance of up to 100 Trillion Suns Astronomers were fascinated in the 1980s with the discovery of nearby dust-enshrouded galaxies that glowed thousands of times brighter than our Milky Way galaxy in infrared light. Dubbed ultra-luminous infrared galaxies, they were...
J074851.72
Jackpot! Cosmic Magnifying-Glass Effect Captures Universe's Brightest Galaxies
Galaxies Shine with the Brilliance of up to 100 Trillion Suns Astronomers were fascinated in the 1980s with the discovery of nearby dust-enshrouded galaxies that glowed thousands of times brighter than our Milky Way galaxy in infrared light. Dubbed ultra-luminous infrared galaxies, they were...
Abell 1689
Hubble Wide-Field Image of Galaxy Cluster and Gravitational Lens Abell 1689
This new image from Hubble of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1689 shows the phenomenon of gravitational lensing with unprecedented clarity. This cluster acts like a cosmic lens, magnifying the light from objects lying behind it and making it possible for astronomers to explore incredibly...
Abell 68
Heritage Image of Galaxy Cluster Abell 68
GRAVITATIONALLY LENSED IMAGE OF DISTANT GALAXY IN ABELL 6
Abell 68
Gravitationally Lensed Image of Distant Galaxy in Abell 68
GRAVITATIONALLY LENSED IMAGE OF DISTANT GALAXY IN ABELL 6
Abell 68
Galaxy Cluster Abell 68
GRAVITATIONALLY LENSED IMAGE OF DISTANT GALAXY IN ABELL 6
Abell 520
Galaxy Cluster Abell 520's Mass (HST WFPC2)
This image shows the location of most of the mass in merging galaxy cluster Abell 520's core, which is dominated by dark matter. Dark matter is an invisible substance that makes up most of the universe's mass. The dark-matter map was derived from Hubble Wide Field Planetary Camera 2...
Abell 520
Galaxy Cluster Abell 520 (HST-CFHT-CXO Composite)
This composite image shows the distribution of dark matter, galaxies, and hot gas in the core of the merging galaxy cluster Abell 520, formed from a violent collision of massive galaxy clusters. The natural-color image of the galaxies was taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and with the...
Abell 520
Merging Galaxy Cluster Abell 520
This composite image shows the distribution of dark matter, galaxies, and hot gas in the core of the merging galaxy cluster Abell 520, formed from a violent collision of massive galaxy clusters. The natural-color image of the galaxies was taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and with the...
RCS2 032727-132623
Hubble Sees Giant Lensed Galaxy Arc
Thanks to the presence of a natural "zoom lens" in space, this is a close-up look at the brightest distant "magnified" galaxy in the universe known to date. It is one of the most striking examples of gravitational lensing, where the gravitational field of a foreground galaxy bends and...
MACS J1206.2-0847
Gravitational Lens and Galaxy Cluster, MACS 1206
Four and a half billion light-years away in the constellation Virgo, scores of galaxies have been drawn together by the mutual gravitational pull. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has peered at this galaxy cluster and gravitational lens, known as MACS 1206. Gravity from the cluster's immense...
MACS J1206.2-0847
Galaxy Cluster MACS 1206
This image of galaxy cluster MACS J1206.2-0847 (or MACS 1206 for short) is part of a broad survey with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The distorted shapes in the cluster are distant galaxies from which the light is bent by the gravitational pull of an invisible material called dark matter...
Pandora's Cluster
Pandora's Cluster -- Abell 2744
A team of scientists studying the galaxy cluster Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora's Cluster, have pieced together the cluster's complex and violent history using telescopes in space and on the ground, including the Hubble Space Telescope, the European Southern Observatory's Very Large...
Abell 383
Lensing Galaxy Cluster Abell 383
Astronomers have uncovered one of the youngest galaxies in the distant universe, with stars that formed 13.5 billion years ago, a mere 200 million years after the Big Bang. The finding addresses questions about when the first galaxies arose, and how the early universe evolved. NASA's Hubble...
Abell 1689
Hubble Helps Astronomers Map Dark Matter in Abell 1689
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the distribution of dark matter in the center of the giant galaxy cluster Abell 1689, containing about 1,000 galaxies and trillions of stars. Abell 1689 resides 2.2 billion light-years from Earth.
Abell 370
Gravitational Lensing in Galaxy Cluster Abell 370
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has imaged gravitational lensing in the galaxy cluster Abell 370, which is located 4.9 billion light-years away.
Abell 370
Gravitational Lens Detail in Abell 370
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has imaged a gravitational lens detail in Abell 370, which is located 4.9 billion light-years away.
1ES 0657-55.8
Visible-Light and X-Ray Composite Image of Galaxy Cluster 1E 0657-556
This composite image shows the galaxy cluster 1E 0657-556, also known as the "bullet cluster." This cluster was formed after the collision of two large clusters of galaxies, the most energetic event known in the universe since the Big Bang. Hot gas detected by Chandra in X-rays is seen as two...
2MASX J00482185-2507365
Hubble and Chandra Composite of the Galaxy Cluster MACS J0025.4-
Thespiral galaxy, 2MASX J00482185-2507365, was imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory.This object has a redshift of z = 0.586.
Abell 1689
Galaxy Cluster Abell 1689
Galaxy cluster, Abell 1689, is located 2.2 billion light-years away in the constellation Virgo. The cluster is lensing a distant galaxy that resides about 12.8 billion light-years away.
Abell 901/902
Dark Matter Distribution in Supercluster Abell 901/902
Astronomers assembled this photo by combining a visible-light image of the Abell 901/902 supercluster taken with the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope in La Silla, Chile, with a dark matter map derived from observations with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The magenta-tinted clumps represent a map of...
CL0024+17
Hubble Finds Dark Matter Ring in Galaxy Cluster
This Hubble Space Telescope composite image shows a ghostly "ring" of dark matter in the galaxy cluster Cl 0024+17. The ring-like structure is evident in the blue map of the cluster's dark matter distribution. The map is superimposed on a Hubble image of the cluster. The ring is one of the ...
CL0024+17
Searching for Dark Matter in a Galaxy Cluster
This rich galaxy cluster, catalogued as Cl 0024+17, is allowing astronomers to probe the distribution of dark matter in space. The blue streaks near the center of the image are the smeared images of very distant galaxies that are not part of the cluster. The distant galaxies appear distorted...
Abell 2667
Hubble Sees 'Comet Galaxy' Being Ripped Apart By Galaxy Cluster
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, in collaboration with several other ground- and space- based telescopes, has captured a galaxy being ripped apart by a galaxy cluster's gravitational field and harsh environment. The finding sheds light on the mysterious process by which gas-rich spiral-shaped...
1ES 0657-55.8
Visible-Light and X-Ray Composite Image of Galaxy Cluster 1E 0657-556
This composite image shows the galaxy cluster 1E 0657-556, also known as the "bullet cluster." This cluster was formed after the collision of two large clusters of galaxies, the most energetic event known in the universe since the Big Bang. Hot gas detected by Chandra in X-rays is seen as two...
SDSS J1004+4112
Hubble Captures a "Five-Star" Rated Gravitational Lens
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured the first-ever picture of a group of five star-like images of a single distant quasar. The multiple-image effect seen in the Hubble picture is produced by a process called gravitational lensing, in which the gravitational field of a massive object -...
J033238-275653
An Eclectic Mix of Galaxies
Like a photographer clicking random snapshots of a crowd of people, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken a view of an eclectic mix of galaxies. In taking this picture, Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys was not looking at any particular target. The camera was taking a picture of a...
Abell 1689
Galaxy Cluster Abell 1689
A massive cluster of yellowish galaxies, seemingly caught in a red and blue spider web of eerily distorted background galaxies, makes for a spellbinding picture from the new Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. To make this unprecedented image of the cosmos,...
Abell 2218
Abell 2218
Scanning the heavens for the first time since the successful December 1999 servicing mission, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has imaged a giant, cosmic magnifying glass, a massive cluster of galaxies called Abell 2218. This "hefty" cluster resides in the constellation Draco, some 2 billion...
CL1358+62
Location of the Gravitationally Lensed Galaxy in the Cluster
A NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the galaxy cluster CL1358+62 has uncovered a gravitationally-lensed image of a more distant galaxy located far beyond the cluster. The gravitationally-lensed image appears as a red crescent to the lower right of center. The galaxy's image is brightened,...
Distant Galaxies of Abell 2218 Viewed Through a Cosmic Lens
Abell 2218
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the rich galaxy cluster, Abell 2218, is a spectacular example of gravitational lensing. The arc-like pattern spread across the picture like a spider web is an illusion caused by the gravitational field of the cluster. The cluster is so massive and...
Quasar B1208+101
Color Images of Quasar B1208+101 Split by Gravitational Lenses
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST) color views of the distant quasar 1208+101 indicate that its image has been split in two by a gravitational lens. The quasar was first observed with HST's Wide Field/Planetary Camera in July 1991 as part of the Snapshot Survey for gravitational lenses. The...
2MASX J00190792-2026281
Cosmic Contortions
A massive galaxy cluster in the constellation Cetus dominates the centre of this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This image is populated with a serene collection of elliptical and spiral galaxies, but galaxies surrounding the central cluster — which is named SPT-CL J0019-2026 —...
Abell 611
A Cosmic Cobweb
In celebration of Halloween, Hubble brings you this inky image of the galaxy cluster Abell 611, located roughly 3.2 billion light years from Earth. This object is a popular target for investigating dark matter, in part because of the numerous examples of strong gravitational lensing visible...
Abell 370
The last of the Frontier Fields — Abell 370
With the final observation of the distant galaxy cluster Abell 370 — some five billion light-years away — the Frontier Fields program came to an end. Abell 370 is one of the very first galaxy clusters in which astronomers observed the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, the warping of...
GAL-CLUS-022058s
Rings of Relativity
The narrow galaxy elegantly curving around its spherical companion in this image is a fantastic example of a truly strange and very rare phenomenon. This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, depicts GAL-CLUS-022058s, located in the southern hemisphere constellation of Fornax...
MACS J0138.0 -2155
Cosmic Lens Flare
The centre of this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is framed by the tell-tale arcs that result from strong gravitational lensing, a striking astronomical phenomenon which can warp, magnify, or even duplicate the appearance of distant galaxies. Gravitational lensing occurs when...
PSZ1 G311.65-18.48
The Sunburst Arc
This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows a massive galaxy cluster, about 4.6 billion light years away. Along its borders four bright arcs are visible; these are copies of the same distant galaxy, nicknamed the Sunburst Arc. The Sunburst Arc galaxy is almost 11 billion...
PSZ1 G311.65-18.48
Sunburst Arc 2
This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows one of four arcs formed of the light from the galaxy nicknamed the Sunburst Arc. Created by strong gravitational lensing, this bright arc of light consists of at least four copies of the image of a single galaxy. The lensed...
PSZ1 G311.65-18.48
Sunburst Arc 3
This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows one of four arcs formed of the light from the galaxy nicknamed the Sunburst Arc. Created by strong gravitational lensing, this bright arc of light shows at least one copy of the image of the galaxy several more copies are...
PSZ1 G311.65-18.48
Sunburst Arc 1
This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows one of four arcs formed of the light from the galaxy nicknamed the Sunburst Arc. Created by strong gravitational lensing, this bright arc of light consists of at least six copies of the image of a single galaxy.
MACS J0416.1-2403
Galaxy Cluster MACSJ0416
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the galaxy cluster MACS J0416. This is one of six clusters that was studied by the Hubble Frontier Fields programme, which yielded the deepest images of gravitational lensing ever made. Scientists used intracluster light (visible in...
