Cluster XLSSC 122: Hubble versus JWST (IMAGE)
Caption
This two-panel image shows a distant galaxy cluster as it has been observed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). At over 10 billion light-years away, the cluster XLSSC 122 is the most distant known example of a cluster found to act as a strong gravitational lens, magnifying and distorting images of yet more distant galaxies behind it.
The brightest clump of orange-red fuzzy objects at the very center of the panels are the central galaxies of the cluster. In the Hubble image, it is very red and appears smaller. However, with the greater sensitivity from JWST, the infrared wavelengths reveal more of the cluster.
The gravitationally lensed background galaxies are only discernible in the JWST panel (right), and they can be seen as a series of blue-gray arcs that extend around the fuzzy bounds of the cluster, particularly to the lower right.
The existence of the strong gravitational lensing effect around such an early, distant cluster challenges conventional cosmological models that suggest such massive structures should take longer to form and mature.
The Hubble image displays data collected at wavelengths of 0.81, 1.05, and 1.40 microns as blue, green, and red, respectively.
This image uses data from four different JWST filters. Light at wavelengths of 0.9, 2.0, and 3.56 microns have been assigned to the colors blue, green, and red, respectively. Data from the 2.77 micron filter were used to assign the overall brightness of the image.
Credit
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA; Kyle Finner (Caltech/IPAC) Image processing: Robert Hurt (Caltech/IPAC-SELab)
Usage Restrictions
No restrictions.
License
Public Domain