Saturday, January 22, 2011

Abell 1689

Galaxies Magnified by Galaxy Cluster Abell 1689
Source: Hubblesite.org

Abell 1689 is a galaxy cluster in the constellation Virgo. It is one of the biggest and most massive galaxy clusters known and acts as a gravitational lens, distorting the images of galaxies that lie behind it.[1] It is 2.2 billion light years (670 megaparsec) away from the Earth.

In February 2008, it was announced that one of the lensed galaxies, A1689-zD1, was the most distant yet found.