Eine Blüte mit vier Blättern
Es gibt mehrere Galaxien in diesem Bild der Woche, aber die faszinierendste ist wahrscheinlich die, die von vier hellblauen Punkten umgeben ist, die einer Blume mit blauen Blütenblättern gleicht. Aber sind diese Punkte wirklich echt? Ja und nein… Das Bild wurde mit dem Very Large Telescope (VLT) der ESO aufgenommen und zeigt ein sogenanntes Einsteinkreuz.
Die vier „Blütenblätter“ sind Abbilder einer weit entfernten Galaxie, die sich hinter der orangefarbenen Galaxie in der Mitte verbirgt. Etwas ganz Besonderes passiert, dass es uns möglich macht, das Licht dieses verborgenen Objekts zu sehen: Die Galaxie im Zentrum wirkt als Gravitationslinse, die das von der fernen Galaxie ausgesandte Licht um sie herum krümmt. Infolgedessen sehen wir mehrere Bilder der entfernten Galaxie, alle verzerrt und verstärkt. In der speziellen Konfiguration dieser beiden Galaxien erscheint die verborgene Galaxie gleich viermal um die zentrale „Linsengalaxie“ herum und bildet ein kreuzförmiges (oder blütenartiges) Muster, das als Einsteinkreuz bezeichnet wird. Der Gravitationslinseneffekt erlaubt uns also versteckte Galaxien zu entdecken, die für uns sonst unerreichbar wären.
Die Beobachtungen dieses Galaxienfeldes wurde mit dem Instrument Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) am VLT der ESO in Chile durchgeführt. MUSE zerlegt das Licht, das von jedem einzelnen Bildpunkt kommt, in eine Art Regenbogen, genauergesagt ein Spektrum, das eine Fülle von Informationen über die Objekte liefert. Die Ergebnisse dieser Beobachtungen, die in einer Forschungsarbeit von Aleksandar Cikota und seinem Team vom Gemini-Observatorium in Chile vorgestellt werden, zeigen, dass die ferne Galaxie mit hoher Geschwindigkeit Sterne bildet [1]. Da das Licht, das wir heute sehen. die Galaxie verließ, als das Universum etwa 20% seines heutigen Alters hatte, gibt ihre Untersuchung Aufschluss darüber, wie sich Galaxien im frühen Universum bildeten.
Endnote
[1] Die Ausdehnung des Universums lässt weit entfernte Galaxien röter erscheinen. Die vier Bilder der entfernten Galaxie hier sehen jedoch blau aus, was auf die Anwesenheit von jungen Sternen zurückzuführen ist. Die Linsengalaxie im Zentrum ist näher an uns dran, aber sie sieht rot aus, da sie größtenteils aus alten Sternen besteht.
Link
Bildnachweis:ESO/A. Cikota et al.
Über das Bild
| ID: | potw2337a |
| Sprache: | de-at |
| Typ: | Zusammenstellung |
| Veröffentlichungsdatum: | 11. September 2023 06:00 |
| Größe: | 2001 x 1013 px |
Über das Objekt
| Typ: | Early Universe : Galaxy : Type : Gravitationally Lensed |
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