Migrant carers from India's Kerala await justice in UK visa 'scams'    Russia and Ukraine carry out attacks after Putin-Trump call    Israelis protest outside government headquarters after new wave of Gaza airstrikes    Nasa astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams finally return to Earth    Harry's US visa records unsealed after drug claims    Saudi Arabia slams Israeli attempts to destabilize Syria through continuous attacks    Commerce ministry: Shoppers can refuse receiving shipment if product is defective    Saudi Arabia surpasses self-sufficiency in figs    Istituto Marangoni to open Riyadh campus in August 2025    621 car maintenance businesses operate under franchise system in Saudi Arabia    Meeting of emirs reviews enhancing security and achieving comprehensive and sustainable development "King and Crown Prince direct to make things easier for the people"    Crown Prince Historic Mosques Project restores Al-Abasa Mosque in Abu Arish    Civil Defense bolsters safety measures for pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah    Princess Reema bint Bandar greets Saudi Special Olympics team in Jeddah    AFC Champions League Elite Finals draw sets stage for Jeddah showdown    Cannes award-winning actress Dequenne dies at 43    Newcastle United ends 70-year wait for domestic glory with Carabao Cup triumph    Antenna: Saudi artist Ahmed Mater opens first solo exhibition in China    Al Nassr climbs to third with dominant win over Al Khaleej, Al Qadsiah slips after loss to Damac    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Man lives for 100 days with titanium heart in successful new trial    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



‘El Gordo' is largest distant galaxy cluster ever seen
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 12 - 01 - 2012

The two merging clusters of El Gordo can be seen separated by a bright field of X-ray light.AUSTIN, Texas — The largest distant galaxy cluster has been spotted by astronomers using a telescope in Chile.
Galaxy clusters are the largest stable structures in our Universe.
Seven billion light years away and with two million billion times the mass of our Sun, the cluster was nicknamed “El Gordo” - “the Fat One” in Spanish.
Astronomers reporting at the 219th American Astronomical Society meeting said El Gordo was currently undergoing a merger and growing even larger.
Alongside other clusters highlighted at the meeting, astronomers hope to better understand how they form, grow and collide with one another.
Galaxy clusters yield many cosmic superlatives; mergers such as the one that El Gordo appears to be undergoing are the most energetic events in the Universe, as vast amounts of matter - and the mysterious dark matter - crash into each other at breakneck speeds.
The growth of clusters and their mergers are driven by gravity; normal matter we see along with the dark matter imaged on a grand scale in Monday's announcement act to draw things together.
Meanwhile, the even more mysterious dark energy works to drive the expansion of the Universe - to draw things apart.
Mapping out the process of cluster growth will be critical to understand the interplay between these dark forces.
The cluster was discovered by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope high in the mountains of Chile.
Clusters like El Gordo release energetic particles that have an effect on the cosmic microwave background, the extremely faint glow left over from the Big Bang that permeates the Universe.
“El Gordo is at a distance that corresponds to a distance of about seven billion light years - we're looking at it at a time that the Universe was only half as old as it is now, when structure was forming at a different rate,” explained Jack Hughes of Rutgers University in New Jersey, US.
“By looking at and understanding the properties of El Gordo, we're able to understand the time evolution of the structure formation of the Universe,” Prof Hughes told BBC News.
wice as big as its contemporaries at similar distances, El Gordo represents a galaxy cluster in the middle of a lifetime. Two rather smaller galaxy clusters were also unveiled that will help lay out this timeline.
A team including Michele Trenti of the University of Colorado used the Hubble telescope to pinpoint a handful of bright galaxies making up the most distant known “protocluster”.
The light we see from it now was given off nearly 13 billion years ago, when the Universe was only about 650 million years old, and the team estimates the protocluster itself was just 300 million years old.


Clic here to read the story from its source.