View source for Astronomy:IDCS J1426.5+3508

[[File:IDCS J1426.5+3508 galaxy cluster Hubble hs-2012-19-b-large web.jpg|thumb|right|Galaxy Cluster IDCS J1426.5+3508 from the Hubble Space Telescope]]
'''IDCS J1426.5+3508''' ('''IDCS 1426''' for short) is an extremely massive young [[Astronomy:Galaxy cluster|galaxy cluster]]. It is the most massive galaxy cluster detected at such an early age.

This rare galaxy cluster, which is located 10 billion light travel distance years from Earth, weighs almost 500 trillion [[Astronomy:Sun|Sun]]s. This object has important implications for understanding how these mega-structures formed and evolved early in the [[Astronomy:Universe|Universe]]. [[Astronomy:Astronomer|Astronomer]]s have observed IDCS 1426 when the universe was less than a third of its current age.

First discovered by the [[Astronomy:Spitzer Space Telescope|Spitzer Space Telescope]] in 2012, IDCS 1426 was then observed using the [[Astronomy:Hubble Space Telescope|Hubble Space Telescope]] and the Keck Observatory to determine its distance. About 90% of the mass of the cluster is in the form of dark matter, the substance that has been detected only through its gravitational pull on normal matter composed of atoms.

There is a region of bright [[Physics:X-ray|X-ray]] emission near the middle of the cluster, but not exactly at the center. The location of this “core” of gas suggests that the cluster had a collision or interaction with another massive system of galaxies, perhaps within about the last 500 million years. This would cause the core to become offset. IDCS 1426 is being observed from when the Universe was only 3.8 billion years old. For an enormous structure to form rapidly, mergers with smaller clusters would likely play a role in a large cluster’s growth.

This core, while still extremely hot, contains cooler gas than its surroundings. This is the most distant galaxy cluster where such a “cool core” of gas has been observed. These cool cores are important in understanding how quickly hot gas cools off in clusters, influencing the rate of stars at which stars are born. This cooling rate can be slowed by outbursts from a [[Astronomy:Supermassive black hole|supermassive black hole]] in the center of the cluster. Apart from the cool core, the hot gas in the cluster is remarkably symmetrical and smooth. This is another piece of evidence that IDCS 1426 formed very rapidly and quickly in the early Universe. Despite the high mass and rapid evolution of this cluster, its existence does not pose a threat to the [[Astronomy:Lambda-CDM model|standard model of cosmology]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Galaxy Cluster IDCS 1426|url = http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/images/galaxy-cluster-idcs-1426.html|website = NASA|access-date = 2016-01-08|first = Lee|last = Mohon| date=6 January 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = NASA's Great Observatories Weigh Massive Young Galaxy Cluster|url = http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/nasas-great-observatories-weigh-massive-young-galaxy-cluster.html|website = NASA|access-date = 2016-01-08|first = Lee|last = Mohon| date=6 January 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Chandra :: Photo Album :: IDCS J1426.5+3508 :: January 7, 2016|url = http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2016/idcs1426/|website = chandra.harvard.edu|access-date = 2016-01-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title = IDCS J1426.5+3508: The Most Massive Galaxy Cluster at $z > 1.5$|arxiv= 1504.01397|date = 2015-04-06|first1 = Mark|last1 = Brodwin|first2 = Michael|last2 = McDonald|first3 = Anthony H.|last3 = Gonzalez|first4 = S. A.|last4 = Stanford|first5 = Peter R.|last5 = Eisenhardt|first6 = Daniel|last6 = Stern|first7 = Gregory R.|last7 = Zeimann|doi=10.3847/0004-637X/817/2/122|volume=817|journal=The Astrophysical Journal|issue= 2|page=122|bibcode = 2016ApJ...817..122B|hdl= 1721.1/102642|s2cid= 85451444|url = http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/1721.1/102642/1/Brodwin-2016-IDCS%20J1426.5%2b3508_%20T.pdf|doi-access= free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = HubbleSite - NewsCenter - NASA's Hubble Spots Rare Gravitational Arc from Distant, Hefty Galaxy Cluster (06/26/2012) - The Full Story|url = http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2012/19/full/|website = hubblesite.org|access-date = 2016-01-08}}</ref>

== References ==
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[[Category:Galaxy clusters|IDCS 1426]]
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