Abell 2744

Last updated
Abell 2744
Pandora's Cluster - Abell 2744.jpg
Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora's Cluster. The galaxies in the cluster make up less than five percent of its mass. The gas (around 20 percent) is so hot that it shines only in X-rays (coloured red in this image). The distribution of invisible dark matter (making up around 75 percent of the cluster's mass) is coloured here in blue.
Observation data (Epoch J2000)
Constellation Sculptor
Right ascension 00h 14m 19.51s [1]
Declination −30° 23′ 19.18″ [1]
Richness class 3 [2]
Bautz–Morgan classification III [2]
Redshift 0.30800 [3]
Distance 1,221  Mpc (3,982  Mly) h−1
0.705 [3]
X-ray flux (5.805 ± 4.7%)×10−13 erg s−1 cm−2 (0.1–2.4 keV) [3]
Other designations
Pandora's Cluster

Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora's Cluster, is a giant galaxy cluster resulting from the simultaneous pile-up of at least four separate, smaller galaxy clusters that took place over a span of 350 million years, and is located approximately 4 billion light years from Earth. [1] The galaxies in the cluster make up less than five percent of its mass. [1] The gas (around 20 percent) is so hot that it shines only in X-rays. [1] Dark matter makes up around 75 percent of the cluster's mass. [1]

Contents

This cluster also shows a radio halo along with several other Abell clusters. It has a strong central halo, along with an extended tail, which could either be relic radiation, or an extension of the central halo. [4]

Renato Dupke, a member of the team that discovered the Cluster, explained the origin of the name in an interview: "We nicknamed it ‘Pandora's Cluster’ because so many different and strange phenomena were unleashed by the collision." [5]

Recent Observations and Discoveries

In February 2023, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) provided an unprecedented deep-field view of Abell 2744 as part of the Ultradeep NIRSpec and NIRCam Observations before the Epoch of Reionization (UNCOVER) program. This observation revealed approximately 50,000 sources of near-infrared light, showcasing the cluster's complex structure and its role as a powerful gravitational lens. The combined mass of the merging galaxy clusters creates a natural magnification effect, allowing astronomers to observe much more distant galaxies in the early universe by using the cluster as a cosmic magnifying glass. [6] [7] [8] Further studies utilizing ultra-deep X-ray observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory have detailed the disruption of cool cores in the three X-ray luminous subclusters of Abell 2744. These findings confirm the presence of a shock to the northwest and suggest a complex merger history involving a head-on north-south merger approximately 0.5–0.6 billion years ago, followed by the first infall of a northwest subcluster. [9] Additionally, the gravitational lensing effect of Abell 2744 has facilitated the discovery of some of the most distant galaxies observed to date. Notably, UNCOVER-z13 and UNCOVER-z12 are high-redshift Lyman-break galaxies identified behind the cluster, with redshifts of 13 and 12.393, respectively.

A 2025 analysis further examined the UNCOVER imaging to identify the positions and shapes of starburst galaxies in the Abell 2744 cluster. The analysis studied the shape of galaxies unobscured by cosmic dust by viewing images in the emission spectrum of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), compounds which are associated with high rates of star formation. [10] The analysis found that almost all the star-forming galaxies in the cluster were in low-density areas on the outer edges of the cluster, suggesting star-forming galaxies are quenched as they fall into the cluster and ram pressure strips them of gas and dust. [11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pandora's Cluster – Clash of the Titans". NASA.
  2. 1 2 Abell, George O.; Corwin, Harold G. Jr.; Olowin, Ronald P. (May 1989). "A catalog of rich clusters of galaxies". Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 70 (May 1989): 1–138. Bibcode:1989ApJS...70....1A. doi: 10.1086/191333 . ISSN   0067-0049.
  3. 1 2 3 "NED results for object ABELL 2744". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED). Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Govoni, F.; Ensslin, T. A.; Feretti, L.; Giovannini, G. (23 January 2001). "A Comparison of Radio and X-Ray Morphologies of Four Clusters of Galaxies Containing Radio Halos". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 369 (2): 441–449. arXiv: astro-ph/0101418 . Bibcode:2001A&A...369..441G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20010115. S2CID   18507943.
  5. ↑ Renato Dupke quoted at Pandora's Cluster – a galactic crash investigation Press release of 22 June 2011
  6. ↑ "Webb Reveals Never-Before-Seen Details of Abell 2744 | Sci.News". 16 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "NASA's James Webb Telescope uncovers new details in Pandora's Cluster | Eberly College of Science".
  8. ↑ "NASA's Webb Uncovers New Details in Pandora's Cluster - NASA". 15 February 2023.
  9. ↑ Chadayammuri, Urmila; Bogdán, Ákos; Schellenberger, Gerrit; Zuhone, John (2024). "Closing Pandora's Box -- the deepest X-ray observations of Abell 2744 and a multi-wavelength merger picture". arXiv: 2407.03142 [astro-ph.CO].
  10. ↑ Robert Hurt (2005-06-27). "Understanding Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons". Spitzer Space Telescope. Archived from the original on 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
  11. ↑ Cheng, Cheng; Wang, Xin; Liang, Piaoran; Sun, Fengwu; Ibar, Edo; Brinch, Malte; Yan, Haojing; Huang, Jia-Sheng; Li, Jun; Molina, Juan (2025). "Probing Obscured Star Formation in Galaxy Clusters Using JWST Medium Band Images: 3.3μm PAH Emitter Sample in Abell 2744". arXiv: 2506.21320v1 [astro-ph.GA].
  12. ↑ "Swimming in Sculptor" . Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Hubble sees ghost light from dead galaxies in galaxy cluster Abell 2744". www.spacetelescope.org. ESA/Hubble. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  14. ↑ Clavin, Whitney; Jenkins, Ann; Villard, Ray (7 January 2014). "NASA's Hubble and Spitzer Team up to Probe Faraway Galaxies". NASA . Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  15. ↑ Chou, Felecia; Weaver, Donna (16 October 2014). "RELEASE 14-283 – NASA's Hubble Finds Extremely Distant Galaxy through Cosmic Magnifying Glass". NASA . Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  16. ↑ Ramsay, Leah; Pulliam, Christine. "NASA's Webb Uncovers New Details in Pandora's Cluster". Space Telescope Science Institute. NASA/ESA/CSA. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  17. ↑ "Webb Draws Back Curtain On Universe's Early Galaxies". October 18, 2023.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.