Chandra Release - February 20, 2002

Visual Description: 1E 0657-56

1E 0657-56 is a galaxy cluster studied by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The image depicts a purple, somewhat circular object in the center, surrounded by small lilac dots against a black background. Chandra's image of this extremely hot galaxy cluster reveals a bow-shaped shock wave toward the right side of the cluster. This feature, thought to be the result of the merger of a smaller group or sub-cluster of galaxies with 1E 0657-56, gives astronomers a rare opportunity to study how clusters grow.