First image and spectrum of a Dark Matter object [heic0116]
Depicts: Dark Matter object , MACHO, red dwarf star
Location: Dark Matter object
Copyright: European Space Agency, European Southern Observatory and the MACHO project team
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This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is based on three exposures from the WFPC2 camera at the
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained in the V-, R- and
I-bands, (shown as blue, green and red respectively). It
shows the first image of a Dark Matter object - a MACHO (a
massive compact object). It is the red object that is
indicated with an arrow. This MACHO is a nearby red dwarf
star that gravitationally focused light from a blue
background star in another galaxy in a so-called
microlensing event. Since the event six years ago, the MACHO
has moved 0.134 arc-seconds on the sky and can now be
clearly separated from the blue star in the Hubble image.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
