星系团Abell 370及其后
(原标题: Galaxy Cluster Abell 370 and Beyond)
2023-09-12
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这张哈勃太空望远镜拍摄到的距离我们大约40亿光年远的大质量星系团Abell 370。这个星系团看起来只被两个巨大的椭圆星系所控制，并充斥着微弱的弧线。实际上，这些模糊的、分散的蓝色弧线，以及中央下方和左侧的戏剧性的龙弧线，是远远超出Abell 370的星系的图像。大约两倍的距离，它们未被探测到的光被星团巨大的引力质量放大和扭曲，而这些引力质量绝大多数是看不见的暗物质。这种效应被称为引力透镜效应，为早期宇宙中的星系提供了诱人的一瞥。透镜效应是时空扭曲的结果，早在一个世纪前，爱因斯坦就预言了这一点。在右下角那颗前景尖尖的银河系恒星的远处，可以看到Abell 370正对着鲸座，也就是海怪。这是“前沿油田”项目拍摄的六个星系团中的最后一个。
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Some 4 billion light-years away, massive galaxy cluster Abell 370 is captured in this sharp Hubble Space Telescope snapshot. The cluster of galaxies only appears to be dominated by two giant elliptical galaxies and infested with faint arcs. In reality, the fainter, scattered bluish arcs, along with the dramatic dragon arc below and left of center, are images of galaxies that lie far beyond Abell 370. About twice as distant, their otherwise undetected light is magnified and distorted by the cluster's enormous gravitational mass, overwhelmingly dominated by unseen dark matter. Providing a tantalizing glimpse of galaxies in the early universe, the effect is known as gravitational lensing. A consequence of warped spacetime, lensing was predicted by Einstein almost a century ago. Far beyond the spiky foreground Milky Way star at lower right, Abell 370 is seen toward the constellation Cetus, the Sea Monster. It was the last of six galaxy clusters imaged in the Frontier Fields project.