Hubble WFC3 Image of Core of RCS2 032727-132623 and Reconstruction of RCSGA 032727-132609

This graphic shows a reconstruction (at lower left) of the brightest galaxy whose image has been distorted by the gravity of a distant galaxy cluster. The small rectangle in the center shows the location of the background galaxy on the sky if the intervening galaxy cluster were not there. The rounded outlines show distinct, distorted images of the background galaxy resulting from lensing by the mass in the cluster. The image at lower left is a reconstruction of what the lensed galaxy would look like in the absence of the cluster, based on a model of the cluster's mass distribution derived from studying the distorted galaxy images.

About the colours

This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument on HST. Several filters were used to sample broad wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F390W (U) + F606W (V) Green: F814W (I) Red: F098M (blue grism) + F125W (J) + F132N (Paschen β) + F160W (H)

About the data

The image was created from Hubble data from proposal 12267 : J. Rigby (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) et al.