Long-distant galaxies, far away in an incredible view of Hubble

The photo, taken as part of a new mission titled Beyond Ultra-Deep Frontier Fields and Inherited Observations (BUFFALO), features a massive galaxy called Abell 370, located at 5 billion miles from Earth. light years from Earth. This group of galaxies acts as a cosmic magnifying glass, focusing on objects distant from the universe.

Hubble is able to detect these distant objects otherwise, because the gravitational force of mass galaxy clusters like Abell 370 bends and amplifies the light of more distant objects in the background – a natural phenomenon also called a strong gravitational lens. [Wow! Hubble Snaps Super-Deep View of Universe (Photos)]

Hubble's new image has revealed many galaxies that lie well beyond Abell 370. She also captured a feature dubbed "the Dragon", visible just below the center of the cluster of galaxies. According to a Hubble Space Telescope statement, this feature consists of multiple duplicate images of a single background spiral galaxy stretched along an arc.

As part of the BUFFALO investigation, the Hubble telescope will observe six clusters of massive galaxies and their environment. The new data will help astronomers to learn more about the evolution of the first galaxies in the universe.

This project follows the Frontier Fields program, which ran from 2013 to 2017. During this program, Hubble examined six clusters of notable galaxies that all showed strong gravitational lens effects, the statement said.

After the realization of its predecessor, BUFFALO will study how and when the most massive and luminous galaxies of the universe were formed, as well as the link between dark matter and the galaxies that formed during the 800 million years who followed the Big Bang.

"Driven by Frontier Fields' observations, BUFFALO will be able to detect the most distant galaxies about 10 times more efficiently than its ancestor," the statement said. "The BUFFALO study will also benefit from other space telescopes that have already observed the regions around clusters. These datasets will be included in the search for the first galaxies.

The BUFFALO data will also benefit future missions, such as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled for launch in 2021 and is expected to replace the Hubble telescope.

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