Abell 2744, Pandora's Galaxy Cluster, X-Ray
Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora's Cluster, is a giant galaxy cluster resulting from the simultaneous pile-up of at least four separate, smaller galaxy clusters that took place over a span of 350 million years. Data from Chandra show gas with temperatures of millions of degrees. The galaxies in the cluster make up less than five percent of its mass. The gas (around 20 percent) is so hot that it shines only in X-rays. Dark matter makes up around 75 percent of the cluster's mass. Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally bound objects in the Universe and have become powerful tools in cosmology studies. Further studies of Abell 2744 may provide a deeper understanding of the way that these important objects grow and provide new insight into the properties of dark matter. Release date June 22, 2011.
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Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: -ray, 2011, 21st, 2744, abell, acis, advanced, astronomical, astronomy, body, ccd, celestial, century, chandra, cluster, cosmography, cosmological, cosmology, cosmos, cxc, deep, detection, emission, evolution, galaxy, heavenly, image, imaging, object, observation, observatory, pandora, science, sky, space, spectrometer, universe
