Chandra Release - August 13, 2004

Visual Description: Abell 2125

The Chandra X-ray Observatory image of Abell 2125 is a vibrant, colorful representation of this galaxy cluster. The cluster appears as a swirling mass of hot gas and brightly colored dots. The hazy texture is created by the combined light emitted by billions of stars, gas clouds, galaxies and other celestial objects in the cluster. It resembles bright fog in shades of red, orange, and yellow, with dots of green and aqua, primarily concentrated in a loose backwards “S” shape. Chandra's image of Abell 2125 is a complex of several massive multimillion-degree gas clouds in the process of merging. Ten of the dozens of point-like sources are associated with galaxies in the cluster, and the rest are likely distant background galaxies. A small bright feature in the extreme lower right-hand corner is likely a background galaxy cluster not associated with Abell 2125. A bright gas cloud on the upper left is the core of the cluster and envelops hundreds of galaxies. It consists of several elongated clouds that are merging.