CL0958+4702

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Chandra X-ray
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CL0958+4702: A four-way collision of galaxies about 5 billion light years away.
(Credit: Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech; X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: WIYN Consortium)

Caption: The center of this composite image shows four large galaxies that are colliding and will ultimately merge. This collision is occurring in a giant cluster of galaxies called CL0958+4702. Infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope are shown in red, visible light data from the WIYN telescope are green, and X-rays from the Chandra X-ray Observatory appear in blue. The Chandra data show hot hydrogen gas at temperatures of a few million degrees and this gives astronomers information on how much the cluster weighs.

Scale: Image is 3.1 arcmin across

Chandra X-ray Observatory ACIS Image

CXC operated for NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
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