Ghost Light Galaxy Clusters

About This Image

Release Date

January 04, 2023 11:00AM (EST)

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2023-003

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Caption

These are Hubble Space Telescope images of two massive clusters of galaxies named MOO J1014+0038 (left panel) and SPT-CL J2106-5844 (right panel). The artificially added blue color is translated from Hubble data that captured a phenomenon called intracluster light. This extremely faint glow traces a smooth distribution of light from wandering stars scattered across the cluster. Billions of years ago the stars were shed from their parent galaxies and now drift through intergalactic space.

Credits

SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, STScI, James Jee (Yonsei University)
IMAGE PROCESSING: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

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Fast Facts

About The Object
Object Name	MOO J1014+0038; SPT-CL J2106-5844
Object Description	Intracluster Light Among Galaxy Clusters
About The Data
Data Description	These images were created from HST data from proposals: 12477 (F. High); 13677 (S. Perlmutter); 14327 (S. Perlmutter); 15883 (T. Schrabback).
Instrument	HST>WFC3/UVIS; HST>WFC3/IR
Exposure Dates	Oct 2011 - Nov 2019
Filters	F606W, F814W, F105W, F160W
About The Image
Color Info	These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope using the WFC3/UVIS and WFC3/IR instruments. Several filters were used to sample infrared, and visible 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: MOO J1014+0038: Red: F160W Green: F105W, Blue: F814W SPT-CL J2106+5844: Red: F105W, Green: F814W, Blue: F606W
Compass Image

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About The Object
Object Name	A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
Object Description	The type of astronomical object.
R.A. Position	Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
Dec. Position	Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
Constellation	One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
Distance	The 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.
Dimensions	The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
About The Data
Data Description	Proposal: 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.
Instrument	The science instrument used to produce the data.
Exposure Dates	The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
Filters	The camera filters that were used in the science observations.
About The Image
Image Credit	The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content.
Publication Date	The date and time the release content became public.
Color Info	A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
Orientation	The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere.