ESO 146-5

ESO 146-5
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Indus
Right ascension 22h 01m 53.306s[1]
Declination −59° 56′ 43.373″[1]
Redshift 0.10083[1]
Distance 1.4 Gly
Characteristics
Type E[1]
Other designations
APMBGC 146+076+007, ENACS ACO 3827 11, 2MASX J22015330-5956437[1]
This video using images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the rich galaxy cluster Abell 3827. The strange blue structures surrounding the central galaxies are gravitationally lensed views of a much more distant galaxy behind the cluster. Observations of the central four merging galaxies have provided hints that the dark matter around one of the galaxies is not moving with the galaxy itself, possibly implying dark matter-dark matter interactions of an unknown nature are occurring.

ESO 146-5 (ESO 146-IG 005) is the designation given to a group of interacting giant elliptical galaxies in the center of the Abell 3827 cluster. The group is well noted due to their strong gravitational lensing effect.

Physical characteristics

This group of interacting galaxies was found 1.4 billion light years away in the center of Abell 3827. A huge halo of stars is surrounding their interacting nuclei. The group has immense gravity that holds the cluster together due to its mass. The group's unusual shape has led to the conclusion that each one of the nuclei were formed from multiple collisions of smaller galaxies, and now the nuclei are merging to form a single huge elliptical galaxy.

Mass

Observations from the Gemini South Telescope has shown that ESO 146-5 has gravitationally lensed two galaxies, a galaxy 2.7 billion light years away, and the other, 5.1 billion light years away. Using Einstein's theory of general relativity, the group was measured to be approximately 30 trillion solar masses, making it the most massive galaxy in the known universe.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "SIMBAD query result". Basic data for ESO 146-5.


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