Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

MACS 1206: A Galaxy Cluster Gravitational Lens

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 17, 2011 is “MACS 1206: A Galaxy Cluster Gravitational Lens,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: NASA , ESA , M. Postman ( STScI ), and the CLASH Team. The original explanation runs about 175 words.

MACS 1206: A Galaxy Cluster Gravitational Lens
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , M. Postman ( STScI ), and the CLASH Team Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“It is difficult to hide a galaxy behind a cluster of galaxies. The closer cluster’s gravity will act like a huge lens , pulling images of the distant galaxy around the sides and greatly distorting them.”

— APOD editors, October 17, 2011

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
October 17, 2011
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , M. Postman ( STScI ), and the CLASH Team
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 175 words

All of October 2011 → · 2011 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: October 17 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.