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1. Tour of Abell 1689
QuicktimeMPEG Abell 1689 is a massive cluster of galaxies located about 2.3 billion light-years away. An image obtained by the Chandra X-ray Observatory shows hot gas that fills the space between the galaxies. This gas is about 100 million degrees, and therefore glows brightly in X-rays. An image in optical light taken with the Hubble Space Telescope shows the individual galaxies not seen in the Chandra image. Some of the galaxies in the Hubble image that lie beyond the cluster appear as long arcs because their light has been distorted by the immense mass in the intervening galaxy cluster. Taken together, the data from Chandra and Hubble show that Abell 1689 is a galaxy cluster that is in the process of merging with another. Astronomers are studying Abell 1689 to learn more about the distribution of mass as well as the unseen dark matter that is thought to pervade the system.
[Runtime: 1:06]
(X-ray: NASA/CXC/MIT/E.-H Peng et al; Optical: NASA/STScI)
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG Abell 1689 is a massive cluster of galaxies located about 2.3 billion light-years away. An image obtained by the Chandra X-ray Observatory shows hot gas that fills the space between the galaxies. This gas is about 100 million degrees, and therefore glows brightly in X-rays. An image in optical light taken with the Hubble Space Telescope shows the individual galaxies not seen in the Chandra image. Some of the galaxies in the Hubble image that lie beyond the cluster appear as long arcs because their light has been distorted by the immense mass in the intervening galaxy cluster. Taken together, the data from Chandra and Hubble show that Abell 1689 is a galaxy cluster that is in the process of merging with another. Astronomers are studying Abell 1689 to learn more about the distribution of mass as well as the unseen dark matter that is thought to pervade the system.
[Runtime: 1:06]
(X-ray: NASA/CXC/MIT/E.-H Peng et al; Optical: NASA/STScI)
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: Abell 1689
2. Chandra X-ray Images of Six Galaxy Clusters
QuicktimeMPEG A critically important number that sets the expansion rate of the Universe, the so-called Hubble constant, has been independently determined using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This new value matches recent measurements using other methods and extends their validity to greater distances and thus allows astronomers to probe earlier epochs in the evolution of the Universe. These images show six of the 38 galaxy clusters that scientists observed with Chandra.
[Runtime: 0:16]
(NASA/CXC/MSFC/M.Bonamente et al.)
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG A critically important number that sets the expansion rate of the Universe, the so-called Hubble constant, has been independently determined using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This new value matches recent measurements using other methods and extends their validity to greater distances and thus allows astronomers to probe earlier epochs in the evolution of the Universe. These images show six of the 38 galaxy clusters that scientists observed with Chandra.
[Runtime: 0:16]
(NASA/CXC/MSFC/M.Bonamente et al.)
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: CL 0016+1609
3. Chandra's X-ray Image of Black Holes in the Early Universe
QuicktimeMPEG
This sequence begins with the Chandra Deep Field-North, the deepest X-ray image ever taken. Black holes that are also found in submillimeter observations, indicating active star formation in their host galaxies, are then marked. The view then zooms onto one pair of particularly close black holes (known as SMG 123616.1+621513). Astronomers believe these black holes and their galaxies are orbiting each other and will eventually merge. The sequence ends by showing an animation of this scenario.
[Runtime: 0:33]
(X-ray image: NASA/CXC/Penn State/D. Alexander et al.)
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG
This sequence begins with the Chandra Deep Field-North, the deepest X-ray image ever taken. Black holes that are also found in submillimeter observations, indicating active star formation in their host galaxies, are then marked. The view then zooms onto one pair of particularly close black holes (known as SMG 123616.1+621513). Astronomers believe these black holes and their galaxies are orbiting each other and will eventually merge. The sequence ends by showing an animation of this scenario.
[Runtime: 0:33]
(X-ray image: NASA/CXC/Penn State/D. Alexander et al.)
Related Chandra Images:
4. Simulation of a Galaxy Collision
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This visualization shows two spiral galaxies - each with supermassive black holes at their center - as they collide. In this simulation, the brightness represents gas density while the color indicates temperature in the gas distribution. The latest Chandra results suggest that such collisions may cause extreme black hole and galaxy growth in the early Universe, setting the stage for the birth of quasars. The time scale shown in the upper left of the simulation represents millions of years.
[Runtime: 0:41]
(Tiziana Di Matteo (MPE/CMU), Volker Springel (MPE) & Lars Hernquist (Harvard))
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG
This visualization shows two spiral galaxies - each with supermassive black holes at their center - as they collide. In this simulation, the brightness represents gas density while the color indicates temperature in the gas distribution. The latest Chandra results suggest that such collisions may cause extreme black hole and galaxy growth in the early Universe, setting the stage for the birth of quasars. The time scale shown in the upper left of the simulation represents millions of years.
[Runtime: 0:41]
(Tiziana Di Matteo (MPE/CMU), Volker Springel (MPE) & Lars Hernquist (Harvard))
Related Chandra Images:
5. Dark Matter
QuicktimeMPEG New clues from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have enabled scientists to constrain the size of dark matter particles in galaxy clusters. Dark matter is the invisible and unknown material that constitutes about 80% of the matter in the Universe. This animation illustrates the three major components of a cluster of galaxies: bright galaxies, hot gas (shown in orange), and the dominant component, dark matter (shown in pink), which is thought to be in the form of a hypothetical elementary particle.
[Runtime: 0:44]
(NASA/SAO/CXC)
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG New clues from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have enabled scientists to constrain the size of dark matter particles in galaxy clusters. Dark matter is the invisible and unknown material that constitutes about 80% of the matter in the Universe. This animation illustrates the three major components of a cluster of galaxies: bright galaxies, hot gas (shown in orange), and the dominant component, dark matter (shown in pink), which is thought to be in the form of a hypothetical elementary particle.
[Runtime: 0:44]
(NASA/SAO/CXC)
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: Abell 2390
- Photo Album: EMSS 1358+6245
6. Chandra Deep Field South Animation
QuicktimeMPEG This video sequence pinpoints the seven X-ray sources [supermassive black holes] discovered in the southern field with the Chandra X-ray Observatory that cannot be seen in the Hubble view. The sequence begins with a view of the full Chandra field. Small boxes appear which pinpoint the black holes [the red blobs]. The video then zooms into the Chandra field to show close-ups of two black holes, which disappear in the Hubble image. These black holes are the most distant ever detected, or the galaxies in which they reside are so dusty that they cannot be seen.
[Runtime: 0:28]
(NASA and G. Bacon (STScI))
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG This video sequence pinpoints the seven X-ray sources [supermassive black holes] discovered in the southern field with the Chandra X-ray Observatory that cannot be seen in the Hubble view. The sequence begins with a view of the full Chandra field. Small boxes appear which pinpoint the black holes [the red blobs]. The video then zooms into the Chandra field to show close-ups of two black holes, which disappear in the Hubble image. These black holes are the most distant ever detected, or the galaxies in which they reside are so dusty that they cannot be seen.
[Runtime: 0:28]
(NASA and G. Bacon (STScI))
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: GOODS Chandra Deep Field-North
7. Chandra/Hubble Comparison Animation
QuicktimeMPEG This video compares the large area in the northern GOODS Chandra Deep Fields field, observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, with the smaller region viewed with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The video begins with the Chandra field, which is over half the size of the full moon, and then zooms into the field to show several supermassive black holes [the red blobs], before dissolving to the Hubble image. Astronomers discovered that the positions of the black holes matched the location of the galaxies in the Hubble image.
[Runtime: 0:10]
(NASA and G. Bacon (STScI))
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG This video compares the large area in the northern GOODS Chandra Deep Fields field, observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, with the smaller region viewed with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The video begins with the Chandra field, which is over half the size of the full moon, and then zooms into the field to show several supermassive black holes [the red blobs], before dissolving to the Hubble image. Astronomers discovered that the positions of the black holes matched the location of the galaxies in the Hubble image.
[Runtime: 0:10]
(NASA and G. Bacon (STScI))
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: GOODS Chandra Deep Field-North
8. Animation of Absorption by Intergalactic Gas
QuicktimeMPEG In this animation, X-rays from a distant quasar traveling toward Earth and the Chandra X-ray Observatory are shown as waves of colored light. As they pass through a cloud of intergalactic gas, which appears as the white, filamentary structure, some of the X-rays are absorbed. Chandra can measure the amount of dimming in the X-rays due to oxygen ions in the cloud. This allows astronomers to estimate the temperature, density, and mass of the absorbing gas, which is part of an intergalactic web of hot gas and dark matter that contains most of the material in the universe.
[Runtime: 0:19]
(NASA/CXC/A.Hobart)
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG In this animation, X-rays from a distant quasar traveling toward Earth and the Chandra X-ray Observatory are shown as waves of colored light. As they pass through a cloud of intergalactic gas, which appears as the white, filamentary structure, some of the X-rays are absorbed. Chandra can measure the amount of dimming in the X-rays due to oxygen ions in the cloud. This allows astronomers to estimate the temperature, density, and mass of the absorbing gas, which is part of an intergalactic web of hot gas and dark matter that contains most of the material in the universe.
[Runtime: 0:19]
(NASA/CXC/A.Hobart)
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: Hot Intergalactic Gas
9. Animation of Rivers of Gravity
QuicktimeMPEG Over the course of billions of years, dark matter and gas collapse to produce vast channels in the geometry of space. This animation illustrates how this process resembles erosion patterns created by rivers. Most galaxies and galaxy clusters lie at the junction of these channels, whereas the hot gas lies like a fog over the dark matter in the entire channel system.
[Runtime: 0:24]
(CXC/D.Berry)
Related Chandra Images:
QuicktimeMPEG Over the course of billions of years, dark matter and gas collapse to produce vast channels in the geometry of space. This animation illustrates how this process resembles erosion patterns created by rivers. Most galaxies and galaxy clusters lie at the junction of these channels, whereas the hot gas lies like a fog over the dark matter in the entire channel system.
[Runtime: 0:24]
(CXC/D.Berry)
Related Chandra Images:
- Photo Album: Hot Intergalactic Gas
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Revised: October 23, 2008