Galaxy Cluster PSZ2 G138: Six billion light-years away in Andromeda | Hubble
This intriguing image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope shows a massive galaxy cluster called PSZ2 G138.61-10.84, about six billion light-years away (notice the small dark burnt-orange points of light scattered around this image in the background). Galaxies are not randomly distributed in space, but rather aggregated in groups, clusters, and superclusters. The latter span over hundreds of millions of light-years and contain billions of galaxies.
Our own galaxy, for example, is part of the Local Group that in turn is part of the giant Laniakea Supercluster. It was thanks to Hubble that we were able to study massive galactic superstructures, such as the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall; a giant galaxy cluster that contains billions of galaxies and extends 10 billion light-years across—making it the biggest known structure in the Universe.
This image was taken by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide-Field Camera 3 as part of an observing program called Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey (RELICS).
Release Date: April 16, 2018
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