Cluster Lensing and Supernova survey with Hubble

This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the galaxy cluster MACS J1206. This is one of 25 clusters being studied as part of the CLASH (Cluster Lensing and Supernova survey with Hubble) programme, a major project to build a library of scientific data on lensing clusters.

The Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH) is a multi-wavelength census of 25 massive galaxy clusters with Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instruments of Hubble Space Telescope over a 3.5 year period (2010 - 2013).

The gravity of these massive clusters is powerful enough to visibly bend the path of light, somewhat like a magnifying glass and are thus useful tools for studying very distant objects. They also contribute to a range of topics in cosmology, as the precise nature of the lensed images encapsulates information about the properties of spacetime and the expansion of the cosmos.

History

CLASH Survey Brightest Cluster Galaxies and Simulations.[1]

As of November 2012, the CLASH has surveyed 20 clusters out of the 25. One of the galaxy clusters, MACS J0647+7015 was found to have gravitationally lensed the most distant galaxy (MACS0647-JD) then ever imaged, in 2012.[2][3]

In 2013, one study utilizing CLASH data found that RX J1347.5-1145 had intense gravitational bending of light such that 8 images of the same object were detected.[4] (See Gravitational lensing)

The Principal Investigator of the CLASH program is Marc Postman.

Clusters under observation

List of clusters is:[5]

Galaxy cluster Right Ascension Declination Redshift Notes
Abell 209
(ACO 209) 		01:31:52.57 -13:36:38.8 0.206
Abell 383
(ACO 383) 		02:48:03.36 -03:31:44.7 0.187
MACS0329.7-0211 03:29:41.68 -02:11:47.7 0.450
MACS0429.6-0253 04:29:36.10 -02:53:08.0 0.399
MACS0744.9+3927 07:44:52.80 +39:27:24.4 0.686
Abell 611
(ACO 611) 		08:00:56.83 +36:03:24.1 0.288
MACS1115.9+0129 11:15:52.05 +01:29:56.6 0.352
Abell 1423
(ACO 1423) 		11:57:17.26 +33:36:37.4 0.213
MACS1206.2-0847 12:06:12.28 -08:48:02.4 0.890
CLJ1226.9+3332
(ClG J1226.9+3332) 		12:26:58.37 +33:32:47.4 0.890
MACS1311.0-0310 13:11:01.67 -03:10:39.5 0.494
RX J1347.5-1145 13:47:30.59 -11:45:10.1 0.451 [Notes 1]
MACS1423.8+2404 14:23:47.76 +24:04:40.5 0.545
RXJ1532.9+3021 15:32:53.78 +30:20:58.7 0.345
MACS1720.3+3536 17:20:16.95 +35:36:23.6 0.391
Abell 2261
(ACO 2261) 		17:22:27.25 +32:07:58.6 0.224
MACS1931.8-2635 19:31:49.66 -26:34:34.0 0.352
RXJ2129.7+0005 21:29:39.94 +00:05:18.8 0.234
MS2137-2353 21:40:15.18 -23:39:40.7 0.313
RXJ2248.7-4431
(Abell 1063S /
ACO 1063S) 		22:48:44.29 -44:31:48.4 0.348
MACS0416.1-2403 04:16:09.39 -24:04:03.9 0.42
MACS0647.8+7015 06:47:50.03 +70:14:49.7 0.584
MACS0717.5+3745 07:17:31.65 +37:45:18.5 0.548
MACS1149.6+2223 11:49:35.86 +22:23:55.0 0.544
MACS2129.4-0741 21:29:26.06 -07:41:28.8 0.570

Notes

  1. ↑ One of the most X-ray luminous and most massive cluster known, with an X-ray luminosity in excess of 10^45^erg/s. Magellan Spectroscopy of the Galaxy Cluster RX J1347.5-1145: Redshift Estimates for the Gravitationally Lensed Arcs

References

  1. ↑ "CLASH Survey Brightest Cluster Galaxies and Simulations". Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  2. ↑ Hubble helps find candidate for most distant object in the Universe yet observed
  3. ↑ Scientific Objectives of CLASH
  4. ↑ F. Köhlinger and R.W. Schmidt - Strong lensing in RX J1347.5-1145 revisited (2013)
  5. ↑ THE CLUSTER LENSING AND SUPERNOVA SURVEY WITH HUBBLE: AN OVERVIEW
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