Abell S1063
Galaxy cluster in the constellation of Grus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abell S1063 is a cluster of galaxies located in the constellation Grus. The collection of galaxies lying 4.5 billion light-years from Earth dominates the scene. Abell S1063 is surrounded by glowing streaks of light which are faint galaxies from the beginning of the universe.
| Abell S1063 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Abell S1063 imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope | |
| Observation data (Epoch J2000[1]) | |
| Constellation | Grus |
| Right ascension | 22h 48m 54.3s[1] |
| Declination | −44° 31′ 07″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.351[1] |
| Other designations | |
| ACO S 1063, MCXC J2248.7-4431, PSZ2 G349.46-59.95, 1RXS J224843.7-443143, BAX 342.2263-44.5187, PLCKESZ G349.46-59.94, RBS 1898, SPT-CL J2248-4431, 2MAXI J2250-445, PSZ1 G349.46-59.92, RXC J2248.7-4431, [DBG99] 118 | |
Before the James Webb Space Telescope researched the cluster, Abell S1063 was previously observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Frontier Fields program. The galaxy cluster creates a gravitational lens and distorts galaxies behind it as a result of its gravity. Like a glass lens, it focuses the light from these faraway galaxies. The resulting images, albeit distorted, are both bright and magnified – enough to be observed and studied. This was the aim of Hubble’s observations, using the galaxy cluster as a magnifying glass to investigate the early universe.[2]
This image is what’s known as a deep field – a long exposure of a single area of the sky, collecting as much light as possible to draw out the most faint and distant galaxies that don’t appear in ordinary images. With 9 separate snapshots of different near-infrared wavelengths of light, totaling around 120 hours of observation time and aided by the magnifying effect of gravitational lensing, this is Webb’s deepest gaze on a single target to date. Focusing such observing power on a massive gravitational lens, like Abell S1063, therefore has the potential to reveal some of the very first galaxies formed in the early universe.[2]
