First located by NASA's Hubble Space telescope back in 2011, Abell 2744 has been carefully observed ever since with an emphasis on piecing together its history. This cluster is located approximately 3.5 billion light-years away from Earth, making it the farthest away galaxy images collected thus far in the history of astronomy. The clearest images so far, as shown above and beneath the sources, were released in January 2014.
Some notable things about the Abell galaxy cluster:
1) The brightest stars within them are said to be at least ten times dimmer than the previously least bright galaxy detected.
2) It is over thirty times smaller than the Milky Way galaxy.
3) It was formed by four smaller galaxy clusters of elliptical and spiral colorful galaxies crashing into one another, which is a phenomenon astronomers have not seen yet. They dubbed it "Pandora's Cluster" because of the unexpected reactions that resulted.
It was very difficult to see the Abell galaxy cluster prior to getting proper equipment and being able to zoom in past other galaxies blocking it from view. If it weren't for the effect of gravitational lensing to spread out the light from those stars around the ones blocking it, then it would have been even more difficult to detect them. This is caused by the apparent bending of space throughout time, so light actually appears in multiple locations when it all originates from the same source. Using the knowledge of gravitational lensing that astronomers have now, they can determine the amount of dark matter and the distribution of it in even the very most distant galaxy clusters found in the universe. This is a useful cluster to study because of the various aspects which make it unique and finding the parallels between those aspects as they relate to closer, more familiar galaxies. Researchers are looking for new surprising information that might result from studying one of the oldest galaxies within possible sight.
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/galaxy/2014/17/
http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1401/
http://www.space.com/24195-hubble-frontier-fields-photos-aas223.html
http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1113066863/nasa-frontier-fields-project-most-distant-galaxy-abell-2744-y1-020814/
It is very interesting (and scary) to think about all the things in space we aren't seeing. it is exciting to think about all the other things scientists will find as technology improves. By discovering galaxies even further away, one can look back in time to gather more data about how the universe began.
ReplyDeleteI think it is incredible that we are still finding galaxies that we had no idea existed. The technology continues to get more advanced and people continue to research what other clusters or galaxies may be around us which is truly astounding. I feel that this is one area of science where we are simply making small steps to prepare for what may come in the future. We cannot yet go out and explore these galaxies like this first hand, but by mapping the sky and continuing to look back, we are preparing our records for someday when they can travel around the universe. It is similar thinking to the early scientists who mapped out the stars every night. This is meticulous work but it is necessary for the explorations we may have in the future!
ReplyDeleteZebulon Hilyard (zebulonh)
ReplyDeleteVery neat that this happened while we were studying this. I wonder how many years the four smaller galaxies were crashing into one another (pandora's cluster) beforethis new galaxy formed. I cant seem to understand how scientists would be able to tell that that is how it formed but I know it is something we are discussing this week in class, it is just hard for me to understand how they can sort-of look back into the past. Very cool topic
It is interesting that new galaxies are still being discovered. It is also interesting to note the role of technology in making these discoveries. Without the ability to employ gravitational lensing, we might not even know these galaxies exist. This suggests that there is a lot more to our universe that we need more technology to discover. I also find it strange how astronomers are kinda of looking back in time when they are examining distant galaxies.
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