The filament extending from MACS J0717 (artist’s impression)

This video shows a computer simulation of the dark matter filament's shape as it extends back from the cluster into the background.

Note that while Hubble's determination of the 2D position of the galaxies is very accurate, measurements of distance in astronomy always contain a degree of uncertainty. Due to the scatter inherent in these measurements, the length and orientation of the filament as calculated by the scientists is derived from a statistical analysis – the accuracy of any individual galaxy's location is quite low.

For the purposes of this illustration, the perspective has been slightly compressed to reduce the scatter in the galaxies' locations, while the dark matter filament is an artist's impression based on the scientists' models of the filament's structure.