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Webb Spotlights Gravitational Arcs in 'El Gordo' Galaxy Cluster

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August 02, 2023 10:00AM (EDT)Release ID: 2023-119
A black background is scattered with hundreds of small galaxies of different shapes, ranging in color from white to yellow to red. Some galaxies are distorted, appearing to be stretched out or mirror imaged. Near the center, a particularly long and thin line stretches from ten o’clock to four o'clock. At upper right, a red swoosh extends about three-quarters of the way around a pair of galaxies. A handful of foreground stars display eight diffraction spikes.

Summary

New image reveals galaxy groups, smudges, and dusty distant objects.

The Fishhook. The Thin One. These are just two of the striking targets revealed in new detail by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. In July 2022 Webb observed El Gordo, a galaxy cluster that existed 6.2 billion years after the big bang. It was selected as the most massive galaxy cluster known at that time in cosmic history.

Galaxy clusters are the heavyweights of astronomy. They have the power to bend and magnify light from more distant objects, a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing that was predicted by Albert Einstein more than 100 years ago. Webb’s infrared image of El Gordo displays a variety of unusual, distorted background galaxies. It also has fueled several new scientific discoveries.

Full Article

A new image of the galaxy cluster known as “El Gordo” is revealing distant and dusty objects never seen before, and providing a bounty of fresh science. The infrared image, taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, displays a variety of unusual, distorted background galaxies that were only hinted at in previous Hubble Space Telescope images. El Gordo is a cluster of hundreds of galaxies that existed when the universe was 6.2 billion years old, making it a “cosmic teenager.” It’s the most massive cluster known to exist at that time. (“El Gordo” ...

Read More on NASA.gov

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Visit NASA Science to view the full news release including article text and associated Webb imagery, graphics, scientific visualizations, videos, captions, text descriptions, and other information.

News releases highlighting the discoveries of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope are produced for NASA by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, under NASA Contract NAS5-03127. News release content is developed by the News Team in STScI’s Office of Public Outreach.

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