Galactic Metropolis
Sig13 08

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/M. Brodwin (UMKC)

Observation • December 18th, 2013 • sig13-018

sig13-018

The collection of red dots seen near the center of this image show one of several very distant galaxy clusters discovered by combining ground-based optical data from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory's Kitt Peak National Observatory with infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. This galaxy cluster, named ISCS J1434.7+3519, is located about 9 billion light-years from Earth.

The large white and yellow dots in this picture are stars in our galaxy, while the rest of the smaller dots are distant galaxies. The cluster, comprised of red dots near the center, includes more than 100 massive galaxies.

Spitzer was able to capture prodigious levels of star formation occurring in the galaxies that live in this cluster. Some of them are forming stars hundreds of times faster than our own Milky Way galaxy.

Infrared light in this image has been colored red; and visible light, blue and green.

About the Object

Name
ISCS J1434.7+3519
Type
Galaxy > Grouping > Cluster
Distance
9,000,000 Light Years
Redshift
1.374

Color Mapping

Band Wavelength Telescope
Infrared 3.6 µm Spitzer IRAC
Infrared 4.5 µm Spitzer IRAC
Optical 400 nm KPNO-4m Mosaic-I
Optical 800 nm KPNO-4m Mosaic-I

Astrometrics

Position ()
RA =14h 34m 45.8s
Dec = 35° 19' 28.5"
Field of View
5.5 x 5.5 arcminutes
Orientation
North is 0.1° left of vertical