(Press-News.org) The gravitational field surrounding this massive cluster of galaxies, Abell 68, acts as a natural lens in space to brighten and magnify the light coming from very distant background galaxies.
Like a fun house mirror, lensing creates a fantasy landscape of arc-like images and mirror images of background galaxies. The foreground cluster is 2 billion light-years away, and the lensed images come from galaxies far behind it.
In this photo, the image of a spiral galaxy at upper left has been stretched and mirrored into a shape similar to that of a simulated alien from the classic 1970s computer game "Space Invaders!" A second, less distorted image of the same galaxy appears to the left of the large, bright elliptical galaxy.
In the upper right of the photo is another striking feature of the image that is unrelated to gravitational lensing. What appears to be purple liquid dripping from a galaxy is a phenomenon called ram-pressure stripping. The gas clouds within the galaxy are being stripped out and heated up as the galaxy passes through a region of denser intergalactic gas.
This image was taken in infrared light by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, and combined with near-infrared observations from Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys.
The image is based in part on data spotted by Nick Rose in the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image processing competition.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md., conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington.
INFORMATION:
For image files and more information about Abell 68, visit:
http://hubblesite.org/news/2013/09
http://heritage.stsci.edu/2013/09
http://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/hiddentreasures/
Gravitational lens creates cartoon of space invader
2013-03-05
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
EARTH: Releasing a flood of controversy on the Colorado River
2013-03-05
Alexandria, VA – As the Colorado River winds through the Colorado Plateau's soft sedimentary strata, it picks up a tremendous amount of sediment. This sediment – which once left the river's waters so muddy that Spanish explorers christened it El Rio Colorado "the reddish river" – is a vital component to the unique ecosystems of the river. However, with the construction of the Hoover and Glen Canyon dams, which trap the sediment, the once-turbid waters have become a dazzling blue-green, signaling major changes with serious implications for the health of the river's native ...
Is the iPad creative? It depends on who's buying it
2013-03-05
Encouraging consumers to feel ownership of products they haven't yet purchased can backfire because consumers tend to see themselves in the products they own, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"Companies assume that consumers who are made to feel ownership of a product prior to purchase will prefer it over competing products, but this can actually have the opposite effect and lead consumers to judge the product less favorably," write authors Liad Weiss and Gita V. Johar (both Columbia University).
Companies encourage us to feel a sense of ...
Product promotion: When do emotional appeals trump celebrity spokespeople?
2013-03-05
Emotional appeals could be more effective than celebrities when promoting products related to a consumer's identity, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"Specific emotions can help consumers strengthen their identities by providing information about how to feel a particular identity, especially when emotions are associated with distinct patterns of action. Consumers tend to choose products that bolster emotions associated with a particular identity," write authors Nicole Verrochi Coleman (University of Pittsburgh) and Patti Williams (Wharton ...
Novel small molecules used to visualize prostate cancer
2013-03-05
Two novel radiolabeled small molecules targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) have excellent potential for further development as diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, according to research published this month in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. The imaging agents—123I-MIP-1072 and 123I-MIP-1095—were shown to have a high sensitivity of lesion detection in bone, soft tissue and the prostate gland with minimal retention in non-target tissue.
An estimated 238,500 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013, and 29,700 will die from the disease. ...
Are new national policies designed to reduce hospital readmissions working?
2013-03-05
New Rochelle, NY, March 5, 2013–Reducing preventable hospital readmissions is a cornerstone of emerging healthcare policy. The U.S. government has developed payment policies that will decrease payments to hospitals with excess patient readmission levels, for example. Early lessons learned from these current policy initiatives hint at their likelihood for success and are examined in an insightful article in Population Health Management, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Population Health Management website ...
EEG patterns indicate when patients lose, regain consciousness under propofol anesthesia
2013-03-05
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have identified specific EEG (electroencephalogram) signatures that indicate when patients lose and regain consciousness under the general anesthetic drug propofol. Their report being published online in PNAS Early Edition is part of a major MGH-based investigation into the mechanisms behind general anesthesia and builds on the results of a November 2012 paper.
"We have discovered highly structured EEG patterns that indicate when people are sedated during administration of propofol, when they are unconscious and when ...
Seniors who play video games report better sense of emotional well-being
2013-03-05
New research from North Carolina State University finds that older adults who play video games report higher levels of emotional well-being.
Researchers asked 140 people aged 63 and older how often they played video games, if at all. The study participants then took a battery of tests to assess their emotional and social well-being. 61 percent of study participants played video games at least occasionally, with 35 percent of participants saying they played at least once per week.
The study found that participants who played video games, including those who only played ...
Before and after: Ad placement should reflect cultural conceptions of time
2013-03-05
Consumers respond more favorably to advertising when the placement of product images is consistent with the way they visualize time, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"Whether a product's image is placed on the left or the right of an advertisement matters for products promising results occurring over time (weight loss aids or anti-aging creams) or products that are valued because they are old or new (antique furniture, modern art, wine, new technologies)," write authors Boyoun (Grace) Chae and JoAndrea Hoegg (both University of British Columbia).
Consumers ...
U of M researchers utilize genetically corrected stem cells to spark muscle regeneration
2013-03-05
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (March 5, 2013) – Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Lillehei Heart Institute have combined genetic repair with cellular reprogramming to generate stem cells capable of muscle regeneration in a mouse model for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
The research, which provides proof-of-principle for the feasibility of combining induced pluripotent stem cell technology and genetic correction to treat muscular dystrophy, could present a major step forward in autologous cell-based therapies for DMD and similar conditions and should pave the way ...
The Joint Facial and Invasive Neck Trauma (J-FAINT) Project, Iraq and Afghanistan 2003-2011
2013-03-05
Alexandria, VA — With over 37,000 face and neck injuries in more than 7,000 military personnel during Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF), a new study in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery concludes additional training in the management of these injuries and improvements in body armor could be beneficial.
The authors note that OIF and OEF have changed the way military surgeons approach facial and penetrating neck trauma. "This study highlights the need for a trained head and neck surgeon in the deployed environment to address these changes and ...