Abell 370

Abell 370

Abell 370 seen by the Hubble Space Telescope on 16 July 2009.
Observation data (Epoch J2000)
Constellation(s) Cetus
Right ascension 02h 39m 50.5s[1]
Declination −01° 35′ 08″[1]
Richness class 0[2]
Bautz-Morgan classification II-III[2]
Redshift 0.375[1]
Distance
(co-moving)		 1,464 Mpc (4,775 Mly) h−1
0.705 [1]

Abell 370 is a galaxy cluster located approximately 4 billion light-years away from the Earth (at redshift z = 0.375), in the constellation Cetus. Its core is made up of several hundred galaxies. It was catalogued by George Abell, and is the most distant of the clusters he catalogued.

Gravitational lensing

Abell 370 appears to include several arcs of light, including the largest ever discovered with 30" long. These arcs or deformations are mirages caused by gravitational lensing of massive and dark objects located between the observer and the distant galaxies.[3] This cluster shows an apparent magnitude of +22.

In 2002, astronomers used this lensing effect to discover a galaxy, HCM-6A, 12.8 billion light years away from Earth. At the time it was the furthest known galaxy.[4]

In 2009, study in the field of Abell 370 revealed a grouping of background galaxies lensed and distorted by the cluster into an arc with the appearance of a dragon, hence nicknamed The Dragon[5] by NASA scientists.[6] Its head is composed of a spiral galaxy,[7] with another spiral composing the tail. Several other galaxies form the body of the dragon, all overlapping.[8] These galaxies all lie approximately 5 billion light years away.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "NED results for object ABELL 0370". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED). Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Abell, George O.; Corwin, Harold G., Jr.; Olowin, Ronald P. (May 1989). "A catalog of rich clusters of galaxies" (PDF). Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 70 (May 1989): 1–138. Bibcode:1989ApJS...70....1A. ISSN 0067-0049. doi:10.1086/191333. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  3. ↑ New York Times, "SCIENCE WATCH; Mirages in the Sky May Not Be So Rare" Tuesday, October 18, 1988
  4. ↑ BBC News, "Far away stars light early cosmos" Thursday, 14 March 2002, 11:38 UTC
  5. ↑ Astronomy Now, "Refurbished Hubble gets off to a flying start" 09-09-09 (accessed 2009-11-07)
  6. ↑ New York Times, "The Universe, in High Definition" 09/09/09 (accessed 2009-11-07)
  7. ↑ New Scientist, "Upgraded Hubble telescope spies cosmic 'dragon' " 09.09.09 (accessed 2009-11-07)
  8. ↑ National Geographic, "NEW HUBBLE PICTURES: First Shots From Upgraded Orbiter" Saturday, November 7, 2009 (accessed 2009-11-07)
  9. ↑ "The last of the Frontier Fields — Abell 370". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 6 May 2017.

Coordinates: 02h 39m 50.5s, −01° 35′ 08″

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