Abell 550, Galaxy Cluster, Dark Matter Map
A clump of dark matter has apparently been left behind after a violent collision of galaxy clusters. This dark matter clump contains far fewer galaxies than would be expected if the dark matter and galaxies hung together. Astronomers used Chandra, Hubble, and the Canada-France-Hawaii, and Subaru telescopes to observe Abell 520, which is billion light years away. This finding confirms previous observations of a dark-matter core in the cluster announced in 2007. The result could present a challenge to basic theories of dark matter, which predict that galaxies should be anchored to dark matter, even during the shock of a powerful collision. he blue-colored areas pinpoint the location of most of the mass in the cluster, 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 the Hubble observations, by detecting how light from distant objects is distorted by the cluster galaxies, an effect called gravitational lensing. Release date March 2, 2012.
Size: 4200px × 2701px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 21st, 550, 2012, abell, astronomical, astronomy, body, celestial, century, cluster, collision, cosmography, cosmological, cosmology, cosmos, dark, deep, distribution, evolution, galaxy, heavenly, map, matter, object, science, sky, space, universe
