All articles tagged with #intracluster light
Astronomers captured the deepest-ever image of the galaxy cluster Abell 3667, revealing evidence of past galactic interactions and mergers, and highlighting our cosmic insignificance. The observation, supported by long-term data stacking and future telescopic advancements like the Rubin Telescope, promises to deepen our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution.
The Euclid space telescope has discovered 1.5 trillion orphan stars in the Perseus cluster, revealing faint intracluster light that could help scientists map dark matter and understand the origins of these stars, which appear to come from small galaxies.
The Euclid space telescope has discovered 1.5 trillion orphan stars in the Perseus galaxy cluster, emitting faint intracluster light. These stars, originating from disrupted smaller galaxies, are spread up to 2 million light-years from the cluster's center. The findings suggest a recent merger in the cluster, causing gravitational disturbances. This discovery, part of Euclid's early observations, enhances understanding of galaxy evolution and dark matter mapping.
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.