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3C294:
Chandra Finds Most Distant X-ray Galaxy Cluster
This Chandra image shows
gravitationally-bound, hot gas enveloping the distant
galaxy known as 3C294. This X-ray emission is
considered a signature for an extremely massive cluster
of galaxies – one of the largest known structures
in the universe. Astronomers believe they have captured
the cluster surrounding 3C294 at a time when the
universe was only 20 percent of its current age. This
faraway cluster may therefore have important
implications for the understanding how the universe
evolved from a much earlier epoch.
Chandra's image reveals an hourglass-shaped region of
X rays surrounding the previously known radio galaxy
(seen as the blue central object). The intensity of the
X-ray emission is shown in red coloring for
low-intensity X rays, green for intermediate, and blue
for the highest observed energies. The vast clouds of
hot gas that surround clusters of galaxies are thought
to be heated by the collapse toward the center of the
cluster. Until Chandra, X-ray telescopes have not had
the needed sensitivity to identify this signature X-ray
emission of such distant galaxy clusters. Chandra
observed 3C294 for 5.4 hours on October 29, 2000, with
the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer.
| Fast Facts for 3C294: |
| Credit |
NASA/IoA/A.Fabian et al. |
| Scale |
Image is 1.2 arcmin per side. |
| Category |
Quasars & Active Galaxies, Groups & Clusters of Galaxies |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 14h 06m 44.10s | Dec +34° 11' 24.80" |
| Constellation |
Boötes |
| Observation Dates |
October 29, 2000
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| Observation Time |
5 hours |
| Color Code |
Intensity |
| Instrument |
ACIS |
| References | A. Fabian et al. 2001, "Chandra detection of the intracluster medium around 3C294 at z = 1.786" Mon. Not. Roy. Astr. Soc. (in press) |
| Distance Estimate |
10 billion light years |
| Release Date |
February 15, 2001 |
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