Distribution of light and mass in Abell 1689
Date: 19 August 2010
Satellite: Hubble Space Telescope
Depicts: Abell 1689
Copyright: NASA, ESA, E. Jullo (JPL/LAM), P. Natarajan (Yale) and J-P. Kneib (LAM)
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This image shows (to the left) the visible matter in galaxy cluster Abell 1689 along with the distorted background galaxies clearly visible.
These galaxies are distorted both by the mass in the gravitational lens and the effect of dark energy on the geometry of the Universe.
To the right the mass distribution of the dark matter in the gravitational lens is shown in purple.
The visible matter and dark matter together form the gravitational lens.
Last Update: 1 September 2019