Galaxies Cluster Toward the Great Attractor
Explanation:
Galaxies dot the sky like
jewels in the direction
of a mass so large it is known simply as the
Great Attractor.
The galaxies
pictured above are part of a
cluster of galaxies
called
ACO 3627 near the center of the
Great Attractor.
Previously, this
cluster of galaxies, also known as the Norma Cluster, was largely
unstudied because dust in the disk of
our own Galaxy obscured much of its light.
The
Great Attractor is a diffuse mass concentration
fully 250 million light-years away,
but so large it pulls our own
Milky Way Galaxy and
millions of others galaxies towards it.
Many of the galaxies in
ACO 3627
are slowly heading towards
collisions with each other.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
