Unveiling the Hidden Cosmic 'Fossil Record' in Orphaned Stars

The forthcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory, set to begin operations in 2025, will study the faint glow of stars that have been ripped from their home galaxies and now reside between galaxies in galactic clusters. This "intracluster light" will provide astronomers with a cosmic "fossil record" that can help them understand the evolution of galaxy clusters and the universe as a whole. By capturing millions of high-resolution images over a 10-year period, the observatory will reveal thousands of clusters with intracluster light, shedding light on the distribution of visible matter and dark matter, which accounts for 68% of the matter in the universe.