'Disco Lights' from Distant Galaxy Cluster MACS J0717 in Auriga | Hubble

'Disco Lights' from Distant Galaxy Cluster MACS J0717 in Auriga | Hubble 

One of the Frontier Fields targets is shown in this image: MACS J0717.5+3745, or MACS J0717 for short. MACS J0717 is located about 5.4 billion light-years away from Earth, in the constellation of Auriga (The Charioteer). It is one of the most complex galaxy clusters known; rather than being a single cluster, it is actually the result of four galaxy clusters colliding.

Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pianos, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars. 

Disco lights are specialized fixtures that add rhythmic light shows to entertainment venues. They originated in the discotheques of the 1970s and have evolved into a fully-fledged tool in event production. Disco lights are sound-activated, remote-controlled, and can feature effect modes such as strobe, rotating, and color-fade effects

In October 2013 Hubble kicked off the Frontier Fields program, a three-year series of observations aiming to produce the deepest ever views of the Universe. The project’s targets comprise six massive galaxy clusters, enormous collections of hundreds or even thousands of galaxies. These structures are the largest gravitationally-bound objects in the cosmos.

This image is a combination of observations from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope (showing the galaxies and stars), the NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory (diffuse emission in blue), and the U.S. National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) Jansky Very Large Array (diffuse emission in pink). The Hubble data were collected as part of the Frontier Fields program mentioned above.

Together, the three datasets produce a unique new view of MACS J0717. The Hubble data reveal galaxies within the cluster and far behind it, and the Chandra observations show bright pockets of scorching gas—heated to millions of degrees. The data collected by the Jansky Very Large Array trace the radio emission within the cluster, enormous shock waves—similar to sonic booms—that were triggered by the violent merger.

Credits: NASA, ESA, CXC, NRAO/AUI/NSF, STScI, and R. van Weeren (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Acknowledgment: NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz (STScI), and the HFF team
Release Date: March 14, 2016

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